In honor of the 243rd birthday of the Navy Chaplain Corps, here is the story of three generations of Navy chaplains in one family, who served with the British, the Revolution-engulfed American colonists and the new United States.

William Balch. Artwork by Clayton Braun, circa 1940s

The Balch family chaplain-legacy begins in 1744 when Thomas Balch (1711-1774) was selected by the British government to accompany British troops, as their chaplain, on their deployment to fight the French in what is now Canada. “In 1744, when the War of Austrian Succession broke out in Europe, the Committee of War chose Thomas to be a Chaplain to the forces that led an assault at the Siege of Louisbourg. This siege was carried out, by the British, against French forces in modern Canada.

Read more about the Balch chaplains in America here (537 more words)…

.

.

.