Known and widely respected today for its social work, the Salvation Army in the late nineteenth century faced considerable opposition. With God on Their Side focuses on a three-way conflict, between the Army, with its flags, brass bands, military terminology, and provocative methods of evangelism, communities who resisted the Army’s ‘invasions’ with jeers and brickbats, and local authorities trying to keep the peace, whether by suppressing the rioters or stopping the Army’s marches. Although the dominant motif is the violence courageously absorbed by the Salvationists, it is evident that the Army sought to provoke, courted publicity, and readily adopted the language of martyrdom. The book offers a detailed narrative of unrest, mostly in coastal towns across southern England from Exeter (1881) to Eastbourne (1891–92), drawing on local histories and press reports. A concluding chapter picks up the historiography of antagonism, reflecting on the disruptive impact of the Army in small,...
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