Randolph H. McKim

Randolph Harrison McKim (April 16, 1842 – July 15, 1920) was an American Episcopal clergyman and writer. He served in the Confederate States Army as a chaplain and wrote numerous works on theology and the Civil War.

Early life

Randolph Harrison McKim was born on April 16, 1842, in Baltimore, Maryland, to Catherine L. (née Harrison) and John S. McKim. He attended, but did not graduate from the University of Virginia, due to the start of the American Civil War.

Civil War

McKim enlisted as a private with the Confederate States Army. He served briefly under General Stonewall Jackson. He rose to the rank of first lieutenant and served as aide-de-camp of General George H. Steuart. He resigned in 1863 to join the ministry. He resumed his studies for the Protestant Episcopal Church ministry with reverend Edward H. Ingle. He graduated the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1864. He later served as chaplain of the 2nd Virginia Cavalry Regiment under Colonel Thomas T. Mulford and General Fitzhugh Lee.

Religious career

McKim was ordained a deacon by Bishop John Johns on May 11, 1864, in Trinity Church. On May 26, 1866, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Johns. He served as assistant rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Baltimore. He then became rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was then rector of Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, for eight years. He then had charges in Holy Trinity Church in Harlem, New York, for 11 years. In the 1870s when the Reformed Episcopal Church formed from the Episcopal Church, McKim was on the conservative side. He spent two years as rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans.