Hal & others,

I'm a little late to this thread, but I wanted to point out that in _A
Fool's Errand_ the Fool finds it curious that men "of the highest
Christian character" commit such horrific acts against the ex-slaves.
Tourgee also underscores this idea in _The Invisible Empire_.

I'd like to second Terry's suggestion to look at Otto Olsen, although
I'll point you towards his biography of Tourgee--_Carpetbagger's
Crusade_.

My shameless sense of self-promotion urges me to direct you towards an
article I wrote about Tourgee & _Fool's Errand_ in the Fall 2002 issue
of the _Southern Literary Journal_.  My focus is not really on Tourgee's
religious beliefs, but on the religious political fervor of southern
whites during Reconstruction.  Perhaps you might find the bibliography
helpful.

Cheers,

Jeffrey W. Miller
University of Tennessee at Martin