Journal of Moravian History, vol. 17, no. 2, 2017
Copyright © 2017 The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
abstract: The Moravian travel reports reproduced here contain
accounts and observations of radical evangelical religion in New
England during the 1740s and 1750s, especially in and around
New London, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. These accounts
supplement existing knowledge about radical New Lights and
separatists at the height of the Great Awakening. Itinerants
James Burnside, Owen Rice, and Richard Utley encounter asso-
ciates of James Davenport, members of the separatist semi-
nary known as the Shepherds Tent, sectarian Rogerenes, and
the exuberant Indian congregation of Narragansett preacher
Sam Niles. Beyond providing heretofore-unpublished accounts
of these radical evangelicals, these sources also illustrate the
uneasy place Moravians occupied during the Great Awakening.
The three Moravian travelers seemed to feel affinity for some
of the radicals they encountered, but were critical of others and
admonished them to steer clear of extremes. Given the fact that
these are just two of many Moravian sources related to radical
religion during the time period, this is also meant to highlight
an avenue ripe for ongoing study.
keywords: Great Awakening, Moravians, itinerants, radical,
enthusiasm, New Lights, separatists, Shepherd’s Tent
There is perhaps no New England town with as great a reputation as a
place “burned over” by the radical fires of the Great Awakening than New
London, the busy port town in colonial Connecticut. Evangelical radicalism
Moravians Encounter
New England’s Radical
Evangelicals, 1745 and 1759
Jared S. Burkholder
Grace College
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