[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.11″ custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”0||||false|false”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.11″]<\/p>\n
This fascinating letter from Hezekiah Balch, the president of Greeneville College (now Tusculum University), to his colleague, Charles Coffin, details the profusion of bodily exercises that dominated the Great Revival in east Tennessee. Balch was especially appalled by the somatic manifestations promoted by his theological rivals, John Witherspoon of Greeneville and Samuel Doak of Limestone. His catalog of \u201cabominations\u201d included dancing, fiddling, barking, fighting, treeing the devil, and a bizarre new exercise that consisted in a \u201clarge number\u201d of revivalers \u201ccollecting, and breaking wind behind, with all their might.\u201d Conjectural readings, textual defects, and contextual information appear in square brackets. <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.11″ \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.11″]<\/p>\n College, December 15th, 1803<\/p>\n Reverend and very Dear Brother,<\/p>\n I wrote you very lately, and inclosed to Doctor Dickson, at the City Washington. Confusion rages more and more. Last Sabbath, in Mr. Witherspoons Church, in Green, was a dreadfull day. A number of my hearers, after divine Service was over at Harmony, went to see. I stood at a distance, and listened; it seemed by the sound, that a Legion of dogs had broke out, and were going to devour each other. Others roared, yelled, Stamped, Danced, prayed, sung &c. Elijah told me, that about 30 or 40 danced. Darky Wyly told me, that old Mrs. McCaul Danced astonishingly, And that she saw Mrs. McNitt lying on her back on the floor exhorting, and working enough to terrify a soldier. They invent new exercises down about Maryville, Knoxville, Grassy Vally, Jefferson, &c. and whenever Mr. Doke and Mr. Witherspoon, and their people hear of it, they adopt those new exercises. Esquire Russel told me last Sabbath, that he Saw them, at a great Sacramental meeting in the Grassy Valley, going thro\u2019 the fighting exercise to astonishment. I am told, that all the negroes and white people, in Dandridge, in Town & country, gether to Mr. Henderson\u2019s Church on the Sabbath day, and dance on the galleries and below, and roar and baul to admiration. I am told that while they are going on in their worship, they have the fiddleing, and riting exercise, i.e., they make their hands and fingers so as if they were fiddleing and riting. I am told that they have lately got the climbing and barking exercises, i.e., for a woman or a man to climb a tree and a number to come to the root of the tree, and bark, and after a while the person on the tree comes down, and Seize, and worry the one that was on the tree. It is said that Mr. Witherspoon danced at the sacrament at Limestone, amazingly. Mr. James Miller told me last Sabbath that he hears they fight, down below, of late, and make the blood fly out of the nose, to a very great degree. Their plan is, to turn all sinful exercises, into holy exercises. An attempt which is, in its own nature, impossible, and if it were possible, it would be wrong to accomplish it. For vice is wrong in its own nature, and never can be virtuous. I am told, but cannot yet [credit] it, [tho\u2019 it may be true that], of late [they] have [another] intire, new, and abominable exercise, which consists, in a large number of them collecting, and breaking wind behind, with all their might. If it is true, it is abominable, tho\u2019 I Scarcely think it appears quite So Spiteful and diabolical, as their fighting, and Dancing.<\/p>\n What will be the end of these abominations? I am told, and I believe it is true that a great number of Mr. Witherspoons people are highly displeased. But still they keep Going except a few that have broke of[f] intirely. Sinful curiosity prompts the blind multitude, to see strange things.<\/p>\n Mr. Fiske is not yet arrived. The business of teaching in the College, goes on very well. The students have got into a studious, regular, orderly habit. Captain David Campbells son, from Grassy Vally, called here, on Saturday last. He informs that Mr. Carrick began to teach in Knoxville about a week ago, with 7 or 8 students, but that the building is in a bad fix, and that the price of boarding, is so high, and the disipation of the Town, so great, that it is very unpromising. He Says, Mr. Ramsay has declined preaching, and teaching. I expect not much need be feared, by us, from the Knoxville College.<\/p>\n Pray Sir, write soon, and largely. I long very much, to hear from you. Notwithstanding, the rage of confusion, and opposition to truth, I don\u2019t think, that there is any ground of discouragement. The Lord reigneth, and that is enough. Mrs. Balch and Children Join in real affection to you. I am, Reverend & dear Brother, yours Sincerely, in the Gospel of Christ,<\/p>\n Hezekiah Balch<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.11″ \/][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”894,895,896,897″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”3.11″ zoom_icon_color=”#fe893a” hover_overlay_color=”rgba(255,255,255,0.9)” \/][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.11″ \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.11″]<\/p>\n Hezekiah Balch to Charles Coffin, Dec. 15, 1803, box 1, Charles Coffin Papers, Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection, Knox County Public Library, Knoxville.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “I am told… [they] have [another] intire, new, and abominable exercise, which consists, in a large number of them collecting, and breaking wind behind, with all their might….”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[86387,86455,86444,93330,95984,86450,86407,86358],"tags":[86367,86413,86362,86497,93331,86394,93332,93333,93334,93335,93336,93337,86377,86376,93338,93339,93330,93345,86353,93341,86372,86371,93342,86361,86341,86432,86358,93343,86523,93344],"class_list":["post-887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-1802-1804","category-correspondence","category-dancing-exercise","category-hezekiah-balch","category-knox-county-public-library","category-other-bodily-exercises-general-references","category-presbyterians-denominations","category-tennessee","tag-african-americans","tag-barking","tag-blount-county-tenn","tag-bodily-exercises","tag-charles-coffin","tag-dancing","tag-dandridge-tenn","tag-david-campbell","tag-fiddling","tag-fighting","tag-flatulence","tag-grassy-valley-tenn","tag-greene-county-tenn","tag-greeneville-tenn","tag-greeneville-college","tag-hannah-balch","tag-hezekiah-balch","tag-jefferson-county-tenn","tag-jerking","tag-john-witherspoon","tag-knox-county-tenn","tag-knoxville-tenn","tag-limestone-tenn","tag-maryville-tenn","tag-presbyterians","tag-sacrament","tag-tennessee","tag-treeing-the-devil","tag-washington-d-c","tag-washington-county-tenn"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/files\/2018\/01\/Balch1803-1080.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/353"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jerkshistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nNo. 11
\nRead this first.[Addressed<\/em>:] Reverend Charles Coffin
\nPresident of Greenville College in the City WashingtonBy the mail.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSource<\/h2>\n