go back and be quiet." McGee turned to go back and was “near falling” when he changed his mind and “went through the house shouting and exhorting with all possible ecstasy and energy." Using the term "slain", that came to be associated with the revival phenomenon of collapsing in a state of physical helplessness, McGee continued: “The floor was soon covered with the slain; their screams for mercy pierced the heavens.” First camp meetings in Kentucky The religious excitement at Red River inspired what would later become a regular feature of Kentucky revivalism—camping at the site. In July 1800, the first camp meeting of the Second Great Awakening took place near the Gasper River. Previous to 1800, long-distance travelers attending the multi-day sacrament observance would make arrangements to stay with neighboring families, but as the news of the revivals spread, the combination of the people’s desire to linger, and the practicalities associated with the needs of large numbers of people from great distances, inspired families to come prepared to camp at the site. McGready realized the potential for the innovation when protracted meetings continued into the night, and one family at Red River came ready to camp for the duration. He began to publicize the idea of camping on the grounds for the next sacrament observance, to be held the following month at Gasper River. People responded and came on several wagons loaded with provisions and ready to camp for the July observance. By the time the meetings took place at the congregations of Muddy River and at several other congregations in Tennessee and Kentucky in the late summer and fall of 1800, camping had become common. The numbers attending, and those converted, had continued to grow, as did the number of ministers who preached and directed the sacrament observances. John McGee reported that most were Presbyterians and Methodists. Baptists were “generally opposed to the work,” but a few of their pastors also joined the revivals. The revival expands: McGready’s account Writing in 1801, McGready characterized the revivals of the previous summer and fall as “the most glorious time that our guilty eyes have ever beheld." Less narrative and descriptive than McGee’s, McGready’s accounts focused on the chronological unfolding of events. McGready’s Calvinist beliefs prevented him from pronouncing with certainty that a person had been converted; he believed that only God knew for sure, but he made attempts, judging by