The chaplain who 'baptized' a cannonSourced
He tried to lift soldiers' spirits with a ceremony for a gun—and was recalled.
In 1861, Civil War chaplain Thomas Mooney 'baptized' a cannon at Fort Corcoran. His archbishop objected to the unauthorized ceremony and Mooney's remarks, and ordered him back to his New York parish.
The troops liked him; his superior did not.
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Thomas Mooney (American chaplain) · Wikimedia contributors
Thomas Mooney (American chaplain) ↗
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Reviewed: 2026-10-02