McPheeters is remembered for his clear understanding of his pastoral duties at a time when the extreme passions of the civil war exacerbated the all-too-common confusion between church and state.

It was 1862, two days after Christmas. The American Civil War was still raging, when Samuel Brown McPheeters, Presbyterian pastor of the largest church in St. Louis, Missouri, met with President Lincoln to present his plea.

A Southern Preacher in the North

Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1819, McPheeters earned a degree in law before moving to Princeton Theological Seminary. Licensed to preach in 1846, he spent two years serving as a missionary to slaves in Virginia. After a three-year pastorate in that state, he moved to St. Louis, where he married Eliza Cassandra Shank.

In 1860, his poor health compelled him to take leave of absence. He moved to New Mexico, where he served as chaplain at Fort Union. He was still there when the Civil War broke out.

By the time he returned to St. Louis, the war was everyone’s primary concern. Since he was born in the south, some assumed he backed the Confederacy, and pressured him to state his position.

McPheeters refused. He didn’t think a pastor should publicly take sides. He was called to preach the gospel – not politics. Besides, he didn’t want to cause divisions in the church, which might include supporters of both sides. He took the mandatory oath of allegiance to the United States government, but continued to avoid discussing political matters. In 1862, he defended his stand at the annual meeting of the Old School Presbyterian General Assembly.

Suspicions and Accusations

When he returned from the assembly, he found a letter, written by Elder George P. Strong and signed by 32 church members, demanding a full disclosure of his views. As evidence of his presumed Confederate sympathies, they mentioned his baptism of a baby named Sterling Price (after a Confederate general). They also objected to the fact that he prayed for rulers in general and not specifically for the President of the United States.

McPheeters replied, in writing, that he had never, in the course of his eleven years as pastor, preached politics from the pulpit, and had always prayed a general prayer for those in authority, as Paul had taught Christians to do. As for the baptized baby, he had simply followed the prescribed formula for baptism, without asking the parents for the name beforehand. He didn’t think he had a right to demand that parents change their children’s names.

“We are not only citizens of the State,” he continued, “but we are also citizens of a Kingdom that is not of this world. The dreadful contest now going on is one to which the Church, as such, is not a party. Let us see to it that she is not made a victim.”[1]

Frustrated by his answers, three of the 32 men published their grievances in The Missouri Democrat, portraying him as a Confederate sympathizer.

The article attracted the attention of the authorities of Missouri, which was then in the Union. On December 19, General Samuel Curtis and Provost Marshal Franklin Dick issued a special order, banishing McPheeters and his wife to a free state (north of Indianapolis and west of Pennsylvania), forbidding him to preach, and giving complete control of the church (including its physical property) to the clerk of the session of elders.

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