The name change was the result of a family joke by the Booths' eldest son, Bramwell. All the Booth siblings had been immersed in religion and strict discipline from birth, presenting a formidable dynasty. Bramwell was now an industrious second-in-command to William in the new church. On hearing them called a volunteer army, he thought it a rather understated description for such assiduous workers. So William replaced the offending word with salvation, and from 1878 the Christian Mission became the Salvation Army.

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From this moment the movement really took off, and its familiar iconography and trappings developed. The concept of an army (albeit peaceful) captured the imagination of certain jingoistic sections of Victorian society, though inflated martial jargon led to some absurd juxtapositions — as a poster publicizing a Whitby campaign had shown, screaming: We are rushing into war….It is a field of blood already, deflatingly adding, A public ham sandwich tea will be provided in the Congress Hall.

But war it was. Ranks were adopted in the Army, with William as general, and uniforms were designed so that members could immediately recognize each other. For women, the unflattering Hallelujah Bonnet served the double function of separating wearers from worldly fashions and protecting them from missiles. The War Cry newspaper started publication, and the Army marched with flags and took the motto Blood and Fire — signifying the blood of the Lamb and the fire of the Holy Ghost. For long, William had realized the power of popular music to aid conversion, and he found that brass bands were great for attracting crowds as Army corps progressed through the streets; they also helped drown out hecklers.

Violent persecution increased, notably by the Skeleton Army, a rabble shamefully supported by publicans, beer sellers and the like. There were martyrs, and some Army soldiers, blamed for provoking attacks simply by holding noisy open-air meetings, were imprisoned. The Booths used the oxygen of publicity to rally even more folk to their cause: By 1884 there were 910 corps (church centers) and 2,332 officers in Britain. In its nonuse of the sacraments and its proscription of alcohol the Salvation Army might differ from the Church of England (which kept a wary distance), but it was becoming part of British life.

At first, William Booth resisted the idea that the Army should spread internationally. An autocrat, he feared not being able to control far-flung outposts that might discredit the Home Front. There had been a short-lived, unsanctioned venture in Cleveland, Ohio, but after the Shirley family from the Coventry Corps successfully set up in Philadelphia from 1879, William allowed George Railton to lead a small contingent to New York. Despite an initial misunderstanding when they were booked as a music hall act, the seed was sown, and soon Ballington, William's second son, was sent to command forces in the United States. Penetration of other countries — France, India, Australia — rapidly followed.

Back in Britain, the Army became involved in 1885 in exposing the sale of young girls into prostitution. W.T. Stead, editor of the Pall Mall Gazette and longtime Salvation Army supporter, was imprisoned for his part in the abduction of 13-year-old Eliza Armstrong, staged to prove what went on. Nevertheless Army efforts helped influence the raising of the legal age of consent from 13 to 16 years.

Then in October 1890, Army Mother Catherine Booth died after an arduous fight against cancer. Her funeral in London was attended by 36,000 people, a mark of not only the respect in which she was held but also the strength of the Army. William and the whole organization sorely missed her guiding hand.

Two weeks after Catherine's Promotion to Glory (Salvation Army terminology), In Darkest England and the Way Out was published. Doubt hovers over how much of the work was personally authored by William Booth, but it certainly contains his ideas on practical Christianity. After spotlighting the poverty and social injustice that he believed hampered people's path to salvation, William described the ways in which the Army could remove those hurdles. These included the establishment of city colonies, farm colonies and overseas colonies as places of rehabilitation; shelters for the destitute in every town; lost persons bureaus; and prison reforms like rehabilitation for ex-prisoners. (The Army already ran a home for discharged felons in King's Cross.) Many Victorians still held the view that the poor had only themselves to blame for their plight and sin, so reactions were mixed.

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