In the fall of 1861, fifty-one-year-old Rev. Francis Springer enlisted in the Union army. The following spring, Reverend Springer, a friend of and one-time neighbor to Abraham Lincoln, rode away with the 10th Illinois Cavalry. A witness to the Battle of Prairie Grove (December 1862), Springer was later named post chaplain at Fort Smith, where, in addition to preaching and ministering to the troops, he was placed in charge of refugees - widows, orphans, and contrabands. During this period, Springer also wrote articles and columns in the Fort Smith New Era under the pseudonym "Thrifton". The Preacher's Tale includes several never-before-published photographs, and appendixes that contain accounts of six military executions that Springer participated in as a Union Army chaplain, the last letters home of two rebel soldiers condemned and executed at Fort Smith, as well as a eulogy written for Abraham Lincoln.

The 1863 Journal -- Prairie Grove and Fayetteville -- Northern Retreat -- The Capture of Fort Smith -- Post Chaplain and Guerrilla Fighting -- The Execution and Letters of Four Bushwhackers -- Other Executions -- Two Articles by "Thrifton" -- Rev. Francis Springer's Eulogy on Pres. Abraham Lincoln.