From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I
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East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 12-2011 From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I. Scofield 1861-1921. D. Jean Rushing East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Rushing, D. Jean, "From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I. Scofield 1861-1921." (2011). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1380. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1380 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I. Scofield, 1861-1921 _____________________ A Thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of History East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in History _____________________ by D. Jean Rushing December 2011 _____________________ Dr. William Burgess, Chair Dr. Leila al-Imad Dr. Tom Lee Keywords: C. I. Scofield, Dispensationalism, Fundamentalism, The Scofield Reference Bible, Confederate Soldier, Manhood ABSTRACT From Confederate Deserter to Decorated Veteran Bible Scholar: Exploring the Enigmatic Life of C.I. Scofield, 1861-1921 by D. Jean Rushing Cyrus Ingerson Scofield portrayed himself as a decorated Confederate veteran, a successful lawyer, and a Bible scholar who was providentially destined to edit his 1909 dispensational opus, The Scofield Reference Bible. This thesis offers a multilayered image of Dr. Scofield’s life by considering political and regional influences, racial and gender attitudes, and religious views he encountered between 1861 and 1921. This study includes an examination of his participation in the American Civil War including his desertion of the South in 1862. After becoming a Union loyalist, Scofield excelled as a lawyer and Republican politician before corruption rumors radically altered his life in 1874. By 1882, he emerged as a minister in Dallas, Texas where he built an image as a Confederate veteran and Bible scholar. Drawing on Scofield’s manuscripts and other sources, this study shows the self-aggrandizing Bible editor consistently adapted his life and rhetoric to his regional and social circumstances. 2 Copyright, 2011 by D. Jean Rushing. All Rights Reserved. 3 DEDICATION To my husband Lane who gave up many hours to allow me to pursue this goal a thank you is inadequate. Your love and encouragement sustained my every insecurity and your commitment to seeing this project through kept me going forward when I desperately wanted to quit. To my daughter Julia you have my undying gratitude and love. You listened to your mom talk about C.I. Scofield so much that you dreamed one night that we bought his car. Thank you for allowing me to devote so many of our precious hours to research and writing for this project. Thank you to my parents Mr. and Mrs. Jimmy Bowens who I love dearly and hope to see more often now. Many professors contributed to making this thesis a reality. Specifically, Dr. Mel Page, Dr. Steven Nash, Dr. Tom Lee, Dr. Henry Antkiewicz, and Dr. Brian Maxson all influenced how I approached history as profession. Dr. Doug Burgess graciously supervised the entire thesis project and guided me through many twists and turns. I would like to especially thank Dr. Leila al-Imad for her unique and illuminating contributions to my thesis and to my historical perspective overall. Thank you also to the many graduate students who encouraged me along the way. Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not state clearly that I owe every ounce of strength to my faith in God and my absolute assurance of His reality. Fidelity to my faith drove me to complete this project. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS So many people contributed to this project that it is impractical recognize them all. I offer sincere thanks to my thesis committee, Dr. Doug Burgess, Chair, Dr. Leila al-Imad, and Dr. Tom Lee for their invaluable input and guidance. I would also like to offer a special thank you to Lolana Thompson, Archivist, Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas and to James Lutzweiler, Archivist, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. I am also indebted to Darla Brock, Archivist, Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville, Tennessee and Nancy Johnson, Archivist, The Lotos Club in New York. I also thank David Lutzweiler for generously sharing his personal archives related to C.I. Scofield. I am also indebted to the Interlibrary Loan staff at East Tennessee State University for their extensive work in obtaining several difficult items as did the staff of the Missouri Historical Society and the Bentley Historical Society. 5 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 8 2. THE CONFEDERATE ARMY ....................................................................................... 12 A Brief Overview of the Life of C.I. Scofield Before the American Civil War ........ 12 Private Scofield, 7th Tennessee Infantry, CSA ............................................................. 15 Escaping the Confederacy and Declaring Union Loyalty ........................................... 24 3. THE PROFESSION OF LAW ......................................................................................... 28 The Rise and Fall of Lawyer Scofield ......................................................................... 28 Atchison’s “Peer Among Scalawags” .......................................................................... 39 4. REVIVED AND REBORN .............................................................................................. 48 The Bible Conversion and Early Bible Training in St. Louis, Missouri ................... 49 Preaching License Suspended ...................................................................................... 52 A Permanent Home and Ministry in Dallas, Texas .................................................... 56 A Noble Tribute to a Minister ...................................................................................... 64 5. A DECORATED VETERAN AND BIBLE SCHOLAR ............................................... 74 Bible Conference Training ........................................................................................... 76 North to the Bible Conference Ministry ...................................................................... 86 Planning the Study Bible and Return to Dallas ........................................................... 90 A Distinctly Southern Man ........................................................................................... 99 The Scholar and His Bible ............................................................................................ 109 6 Chapter Page 6. THE LEGACY OF DR. C.I. SCOFIELD ........................................................................ 118 7. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................. 127 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................... 132 APPENDIX: Cyrus Scofield Letter to Col. F. A. Dick, 18 November 1862 ......................... 140 VITA ........................................................................................................................................... 144 7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Known worldwide for his dispensational opus The Scofield Reference Bible, C. I. (Cyrus Ingerson) Scofield remains an enigmatic figure of the twentieth century Christian fundamentalist movement. In 1920, Charles G. Trumbull published the first biography of the famed Bible editor under the title The Life Story of C.I. Scofield.1 Largely a tribute to the fundamentalist icon, Trumbull portrayed Scofield as “veteran saint,” an image that remained intact for over sixty years.2 In 1988, independent writer Joseph M. Canfield published his polemical biography The Incredible Scofield and His Book, which denigrated Scofield as an abject liar and an opportunistic promoter of a baseless theology.3 Neither Trumbull nor Canfield captured the complex and provocative nature of the controversial theologian. By reexamining C.I. Scofield’s life story, this thesis found that he purposely constructed his public image as a decorated Confederate veteran, successful lawyer, and Bible scholar to create a respectable identity among his peers, especially in Dallas, Texas. Yale graduate and editor of the fundamentalist periodical The Sunday School Times, Charles G. Trumbull obtained C. I. Scofield’s