New Book Looks at the Life & Times of Influential American Cleric

Bishop Charles P. McIlvaine was an important figure in nineteenth century America. As one of the leading evangelicals in the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Ohioan became the pivotal figure in the evangelical Episcopal-Anglican community. Famed as a preacher and speaker, his books and pamphlets were read by a trans-Atlantic audience. In this work on McIlvaine, author, Richard W. Smith, mined British and American sources never before utilized.

His endeavors in the United Kingdom resulted in honorary degrees from Cambridge University and Oxford University. Aware of his reputation in England, the Lincoln Administration sent him to Britain in 1861.
Working with Thurlow Weed, he sought to swing middle and upper class opinion into a pro-Federal position. This groundbreaking account develops the struggles encountered and the significance of the informal mission for Federal policies. The political overtones in his friendship with the Prince of Wales are examined.

As a reformer, he became an anti-slave advocate. After his return from England, his persuasive leadership induced the Federal Episcopal Convention to support the Union war effort, which included Lincoln's emancipation policy. Comfortable in any secular or military environment, McIlvaine's other wartime activities were notable. As the war ended, he declared that African Americans should be made equal participants in the American epic. His complex persona is revealed in the book. A rich and at times sorrowful family saga unfolds. In later years, the bishop undertook trips to Europe as he was busy with English and European religious questions. After his death in Italy, he was honored in Britain and America.

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Bishop McIlvaine, Slavery, Britain & the Civil War * by Richard W. Smith
Publication Date: 8/5/2014
Trade Paperback; $19.99; 328 pages; 978-1-4797-0289-3
Trade Hardback; $29.99; 328 pages; 978-1-4797-0290-9
eBook; $3.99; 978-1-4797-0291-6

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