GUNFIRE. Mob rule. Skeleton Army. Riot Act. Military intervention. Bloodshed. Beatings. Abuse. Conspiracy. Imprisonment. If early-day Salvationists had given up in the face of such opposition, The Salvation Army would not have lasted 150 days, let alone 150 years.
In Blood on the Flag, Major Nigel Bovey details the history of the Skeleton Army’s opposition to Booth’s fledgling Salvation Army. With insights and coverage from first-hand reporters, the author – the War Cry editor with more than 20 years’ journalistic experience – traces the story as told by the Victorian press.
How those battered and bloodied Salvationists refused to give in and continued to take the good news to the streets will fascinate and challenge today’s reader.
