The Civil War's Moses Moment at Providence Spring—100 Bible Verses That Changed America

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Zumo is easy. Everyone loves getting good advice and staying in the know. There's nothing like getting a heads-up on something before you've even had time to think about whether you need or want it. Well, thankfully AT&T provides personalized recommendations and solutions so you get what's right for you. Whether right for you means a plan that's better suited for you and your family or a product that makes sense for you and your lifestyle, it feels good knowing that AT&T has your back.

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Let's take a listen. Several years ago, a West Point graduate who's a friend of mine drove with me down to Andersonville, Georgia to visit the National Prisoner of War Museum and to see the old Confederate POW camp and to see with my own eyes as I wanted to do the water source known as Providence Spring. The story behind this spring is one of the most remarkable in American history. I found several accounts of this story by various soldiers who were imprisoned there at the time.

I'm going to share one as told by a man named John L. Mayle, M-A-I-L-E. When the Civil War erupted, Mayle was a Michigan teenager who enlisted with the Union Army, served bravely, and rose to the rank of lieutenant. During the Battle of the Wilderness, he was captured and shipped in a cattle car to this infamous POW camp at Andersonville deep in the heart of Georgia on May 23, 1864. The prison was really just an open meadow of 26 acres surrounded by a 15-foot high stockade fence.

Pigeon roost were manned by guards ready to shoot any prisoner who crossed the deadline that framed the interior of the stockade. The fort was built to house 10,000 prisoners but Mayle found himself crammed among 33,000. 33,000 starving exposed men. The only source of water was a small brook that ran through the meadow and this was where the prisoners drank and washed and used the latrine. Furthermore, it was downstream from the Confederate camp and the creek became known as, Mayle wrote, a vast cesspool on which a boundless swarm of flies settled down and laid their eggs continually.

The odor could be detected miles away. A terrible water famine set in and the result was that many of the ailing ones became insane with thirst. Soon hundreds of POWs were dying of disease. One evening, Mayle heard a group of soldiers singing the doxology and he joined them around an old pine stump on which, as he put it, was seated an emaciated Calvary sergeant, Mr. Shepherd of Columbus, Ohio, formerly an honored preacher of the gospel. In days past, he had frequently been called upon to offer prayer over the remains of some deceased comrade and now he led in this old and well-known hymn, the doxology, to call like-minded souls together.

Some 25 unkempt, starving, thirsty men gathered around him and joined in the familiar strains of the song. What memories of family worship and old-time services in the meeting house those words called up? Brother Shepherd said, I have today read in the book of Numbers about Moses striking the rock from which water gushed out in an ample supply for both men and beasts. I tell you that God must strike a rock here in Andersonville or we shall all die of thirst and if there is no rock here he can smite the ground and bring forth water to supply our desperate needs.

On this, I am sure, let us ask him to do this. Pointing to an uncombed, unwashed, ragged soldier nearby, Mr. Shepherd asked, will the brother from Chicago pray? He then successively called on all of his acquaintances, all of the other soldiers to pray and all the prayers were poured out and the one desire for water, perhaps an hour or so, perhaps an hour the meeting continued and then it closed again with the doxology. The words of the leader were, boys when you awaken during the night offer to God a little prayer for water.

Do the same thing many times tomorrow and let us meet in the evening to pray again for water. Prayers went up among the soldiers for several days. Then one morning as they awoke, as Mail said, an ominous stillness pervaded nature. By mid-morning, black clouds began rolling in and the camp was deluged by a long-lasting cloud burst. Now this is what Mr. Mail said, clashes of thunder broke over our heads and flashes of lightning squished around us as if the air were filled with short circuits. As the mighty deluge swept through the clearing west of the prison, we bowed our heads in preparation for submersion.

When it came upon us, the sensation was as if a million buckets of water were being poured out upon us all at once. When the storm finally ended, a prisoner near the north gate began shouting, a spring, a spring! Mail later wrote in his memoirs, Prison Life in Andersonville, the vent of a spring of pure crystal water shot up into the air like a column and fell again in a fan-like spray and went babbling down the grade.

I've read other accounts by prisoners who describe how during the storm a lightning bolt struck inside the deadline between where the prisoners were and the stockade fence releasing an underground spring and the spring still gurgles to this day. If you visit Andersonville, as I did, you can tour the National Prisoner War Museum and then walk through the area of the stockade and then amble over to a stone shelter and see what is still called to this day Providence Spring and read the inscription on the rock there which says, God smote the hillside and gave them drink, August 16, 1864. And a terrific job on the production, editing, and storytelling by our own Greg Hengler and a special thanks to Robert Morgan. He's the author of 100 Bible verses that made America, defining moments that shaped our enduring foundation of faith.

Go to Amazon or wherever you get your books. The story of the Providence Spring here on Our American Stories. This is Lee Habib, host of Our American Stories, the show where America is the star in the American people and we do it all from the heart of the South, Oxford, Mississippi. But we truly can't do this show without you. Our shows will always be free to listen to, but they're not free to make. If you love what you hear, consider making a tax deductible donation to Our American Stories. Go to OurAmericanStories.com.

Give a little, give a lot. That's OurAmericanStories.com. Roku has what you need to make your college home away from home feel more like your own. Make your dorm the place to be with Roku TV or bring a Roku streaming stick to easily access all your favorite free and premium content like iHeartRadio. Stream your favorite playlist with the Roku vibe setting smart light strips to sync your music to millions of colors and make your dorm feel more like you. Make your dorm the place to be with Roku TV, streaming players and smart lights.

Head to roku.com or your favorite retailer to deck out your dorm. Hey gorgeous, it's Paris Hilton. Get the party started with my new album, Infinite Icon, out now and stream the new single, Bad B**** Academy. I wanted this album to be an escape, to take people to a happy place where they can heal and party in equal measure.

And most of all, be your own unapologetic icon. Listen on iHeartRadio and visit infiniteicon.com to order the album. Sponsored by 11-11 Media. Get more of the NFL with NFL Plus Premium and start streaming more touchdowns, more hurdles, more action. NFL Plus Premium has your game day covered with NFL Red Zone, game replays, live local and prime time games on mobile and more.

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Or play iHeart Country or Hip Hop Beats. Your choice, all for free. Stream easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on-demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle.

This September, have movie night with the blockbuster hit Godzilla and Resident Evil starring Mila Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez. Streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard. Zumo is easy.