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Cromwell’s Soldiers’ Pocket Bible (aka The Soldier’s Pocket Bible ) was a version of the Christian bible that was carried by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth army during the English Civil War.

Description

The Soldier’s Pocket Bible was first issued in 1643 to Cromwell’s army and was put in general use among his soldiers. It has been of historical record that Cromwell's soldiers were provided with a small pocket Bible. George Livermore, a book collector from Cambridgeport, Massachusetts, discovered a copy of The Soldier’s Pocket Bible in 1854 and found that the Bible which Cromwell's soldiers carried was not the complete Christian Bible of 66 books, but a condensed booklet version. The Soldier’s Pocket Bible had just 16 pages that contained some select verse quotations from the Geneva Bible - related to war. These verses were from the Old Testament (except two). This condensed Soldier's Pocket Bible issued to Cromwell's soldiers was usually buttoned on the inside waistcoat, placed near the heart, and under the soldier's outer coat. Cromwell did help select some of the verses used and supervised how the Soldiers Pocket Bible went together by its editor Edmund Calamy.

Purpose

Cromwell’s military success was due to the training of his soldiers. The Soldier’s Pocket Bible was used for religious inspiration and to help influence good morals and rigid discipline.

Legacy

Before Cromwell's soldiers went into battle they would pray and sing religious songs from the Book of Psalms. Because they feared God only, they were noted as being among the best soldiers the world has ever known. Cromwell claimed his soldiers always beat the enemy in any battle they fought after The Soldier’s Pocket Bible was issued in 1643.

The British Museum has a 1643 copy of the The Soldier’s Pocket Bible (Great Britain copy) and the only other 1643 copy known to exist is Livermore's copy (American copy).

The work was reissued in 1693 under the title "The Christian Soldier's Penny Bible." The British Museum has the only 1693 copy known to exist. In this version it is similar to Cromwell's Soldiers' Pocket Bible except that some of the "Headers" have been changed and some of the text has been altered. The altered text reflects the King James Version of the Bible from its original Geneva Bible text.

There were about fifty thousand copies of The Soldier’s Pocket Bible reprinted for the Northern troops in the American Civil War.

References

1. ^ Internet Archive, Open Library. The soldiers' pocket Bible, Issued for the use of the army of Oliver Cromwell, A. D. 1643. Raleigh (N.C.): General Tract Agency (1860). p. 3. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
2. ^ Congressional 1898, p. 1022.
3. "The Soldier's pocket Bible". Digital Collections at the Boston Athenaeum. South Carolina Tract Society, publisher. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
4. "BIBLES and Related Resources". swrb.com. Still Waters Revival Books. 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
5. Young 1917, p. 735.
6. ^ Internet Archive, Open Library. The soldiers' pocket Bible, Issued for the use of the army of Oliver Cromwell, A. D. 1643. Raleigh (N.C.): General Tract Agency (1860). p. 4. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
7. "Preface to The Soldier's pocket Bible, p 2 In 1643 appeared this little manual for the English army....and from that day forward they never were beaten, but whenever they were engaged against the enemy they beat continually .". Digital Collections at the Boston Athenaeum http://cdm.bostonathenaeum.org/cdm/. South Carolina Tract Society (Charleston, S.C. : Printed by Evans & Cogswell, No. 3 Broad Street, Charleston, S.C.). between 1861 and 1865. Retrieved 31 July 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); External link in |website= (help)
8. McConnell 1918, p. 454, v 37. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMcConnell1918 (help)
9. Fry 1862, p. iii. sfn error: no target: CITEREFFry1862 (help)
10. Ernest Sutherland Bates (1937). "The Biography of the Bible". Internet Sacred Text Archive. Evinity Publishing INC. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

Bibliography

• Congressional, Edition (1898). Congressional Edition. U.S. Government Printing Office.

• Fry, Francis; Calamy, Edmund (1862). The Christian Soldier's Penny Bible. London Printed ... 1693. Reproduced in Facsimile, with an Introductory Note by Francis Fry. Willis & Sotheran.

• McConnell, Alexander; Moody, William Revell; Fitt, Arthur Percy (1918). Record of Christian Work. Record of Christian Work Company.

• Young, Men (1917). Young Men.

• 1643 books
• Early printed Bibles
• History of Christianity in the United Kingdom
• 17th-century Christian texts