Churches in the Crossfire

    Battles fought during the 1860s often encompassed great swaths of ground. Gettysburg alone comes in at almost 18 square miles. As these battles rolled back and forth, they passed by people’s homes, their farms, and their community structures, like railroad depots, schools, and churches. Churches were community spaces. Besides religious services, they often held schools during the week, and could be the place where political oratory was presented as elections drew near. As the soldiers squared off to fight, many churches could become hospitals. The following list is nowhere complete, but just an introduction to some of these historic sites and structures.

Dunker Church, Sharpsburg, MD

   Dunker Church, on the Antietam National battlefield, is probably the most recognized church of the war. One of the bloodiest battles of the war was fought around the church in September 1862, and a photograph taken by Alexander Gardner right after the battle, showing the church, has become a staple of images in many war-time histories. The Dunkers were a part of the German Baptist Brethren, and the church near Sharpsburg was built in 1852 on land given by local farmer Samuel Mumma. During the battle, Confederate artillery and infantry were posted in and around the Dunker Church. While modest in structure, the church was a focal point during the early morning fighting on September 17. During the battle, the church was struck with small arms and artillery projectiles, and then went on to serve as a makeshift hospital. The building was used as a church after the battle, but in the early 1900s, the congregation moved to town, and the building fell into disrepair. What was left of the original building was dismantled. After passing through several hands, the property was acquired by the Federal government; in the 1960s, using many of the original materials, the structure was rebuilt and re-dedicated on September 2, 1962. (You can read a more in-depth history here.)

   The Shiloh Meeting House, on the Shiloh National Battlefield in Tennessee, was a one-room log structure built by the Methodists in 1853. In April 1862, Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman posted his division on either side of the church. They considered Shiloh Church a “rude structure in which…the voices of the ‘poor white trash’ of Tennessee mingle in praise to God.” The Confederates attacked on April 6, and two hours later, succeeded in driving Sherman’s Federals from their position. Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston’s body was carried into the church after his death, and later, Confederate Lieutenant General P.G.T. Beauregard established his headquarters at the building the next day. After the battle, the Federals reportedly tore down the structure, using the logs to build breastworks. Ironically, Shiloh means “place of peace.” A log chapel was reconstructed in 2001. (You can read more here)

Salem Church was a focal pointing of the fighting of the second battle of Fredericksburg, a part of the Chancellorsville Campaign of May 1863. Sometimes, this fighting is actually called the battle of Salem Church. The church was originally constructed in 1844 by local Baptists. The main part of the battle was a Federal flanking maneuver to the west, an action that bogged down at Chancellorsville. The second part of the action featured a Federal advance from Fredericksburg. The thin line of Confederates left behind in the trenches were unable to hold and fell back toward the west. Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox’s Confederate brigade was reinforced by Confederates from McLaws and Anderson’s divisions, concentrated on a line around the Salem Church. Federals were able to break the line around the church, capturing Confederates from Alabama firing out of the windows of the church. A counterattack by Wilcox drove the Federals back and recaptured the area around the church. Salem Church, now a National Park Service site, is an original structure. You can learn more about the battle by following this link

Fredericksburg Baptist Church 

Fredericksburg Baptist Church likewise saw its share of the war. Built in 1855 of brick and standing two stories tall, the building was one of the most elaborate examples of the Gothic Revival architecture in the area.  There were a dozen holes in the building that had to be patched following the end of the war. The building served as a hospital during both battles of Fredericksburg. The building survives, although it has been heavily expanded over the past 150 years.

Old Bluff Presbyterian Church was host to Federal soldiers during Sherman’s march to the sea. Old Bluff Church is in Cumberland County, North Carolina. Scottish immigrants founded the church in 1758 and constructed the present building in 1853. While there was a skirmish nearby, no large battle was fought near the church. Instead, the church served as a headquarters to Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman on the night of March 15, 1865. The original church building survives. You can learn more about this church
here

Mt. Zion Christian Church in Madison County, Kentucky, was constructed in 1852. During the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, in August 1862, the building was struck by artillery fire. It was used as a Federal field hospital in one of the most overwhelming Confederate victories of the war.

There are countless churches that doubled as hospitals during the war. A sample listing would include St. Mark’s Episcopal in Raymond, Mississippi; Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Morristown, Tennessee; Blanford Church in Petersburg, Virginia; Old Stone Church in Ringgold, GA; and Old Christ Church in Pensacola, Florida, just to name a few.

There is also much research left to do on this topic, church history, and the war in general.