Virtual Tour by Markers of at Salem Church. Use the “First >>” button above to see these markers in sequence.| Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Churchyard to Battleground | | | For the first two days of May 1863, the boom of distant guns rattled the windows of Salem Church. Eight miles to the west, at Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee’s main Confederate army battered a Union army nearly twice its size. Four miles to the east, a smaller Confederate force resisted a Union crossing at Fredericksburg. The handful of farmers who lived around Salem Church probably took comfort that the gunfire indeed seemed distant.
That suddenly changed on the afternoon of May 3. The . . . — Map (db m3497) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Sanctuaries in Spotsylvania | | | Salem Baptist Church was one of nearly a dozen churches that dotted northern Spotsylvania County on the eve of the Civil War. Zoan, Wilderness, Massaponax, Zion, Christ, Piney Branch – They collectively served as the backbone of the Spotsylvania community. Far-flung neighbors often saw each other only at Sunday church services. Pastors like Salem’s Melzi Chancellor became both spiritual and community leaders.
Like most of Spotsylvania’s churches, Salem consisted of fewer than 100 . . . — Map (db m3499) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — For All Anguish – For Some Freedom | | | Few communities suffered more in the face of war than did Spotsylvania County. For two years armies traversed, occupied, or fought over this ground. Most residents simply tried to stay out of the way; a few left altogether. Virtually every farm in the northern half of the county suffered damage – vandalized houses, pillaged pantries, burned fences, stolen livestock.
Most white Spotsylvanians owned small farms of a few hundred acres. More than 6,000 slaves – half the county’s . . . — Map (db m5621) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Salem Church | | | Spotsylvania Baptists built this church in 1844 and named it Salem, a Biblical word meaning peace. Two decades later, Salem Church was engulfed by war. Initially the church had just 29 members, but by 1859 the number had risen to 77, 20 of whom were black. Black worshippers entered the church through a separate door – still visible to your left – that led to a separate gallery. White members entered through the main entrance, women to the left, men to the right.
The Civil War . . . — Map (db m3503) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Old Salem Church | | | This simple and sturdy edifice, constructed in 1844, is typical of the brick churches which rural Baptists build around Fredericksburg in the mid-19th century. During the campaign of November and December, 1862, the building sheltered refugees from Fredericksburg and later served to store their furniture. On May 3 and 4, 1863, it had a brief but significant life as a Confederate fortress and lent its name forever to this battlefield. Then, when the battle was over, it became a crowded hospital. . . . — Map (db m3505) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Battle of Salem Church | | | of May 3, 4, 1863 fought by Lee and Hooker concluded the Chancellorsville Campaign here. The followers of Lee, in imperishable bronze respond to the noble sentiment of the followers of Grant and pay highest tribute to the patriotism of both.
Erected by the
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Chapters, U.D.C.
1927 — Map (db m3506) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Battle of Salem Church | | | May 3, 1863
Brooks – Newton
vs
Wilcox – Semmes
Mahone — Map (db m3508) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — The Battle of Salem Church | | | This ridge top now brimming with traffic and commerce once witnessed the clash of armies. On May 3, 1863, 10,000 Confederate troops took position astride the Orange Plank Road (modern Va. Route 3). That afternoon, 20,000 Union soldiers under General John Sedgwick, marching westward from Fredericksburg, attacked the Confederates here, trying to break through to strike the rear of Lee’s army at Chancellorsville. The fighting raged along this ridge extending several hundred yards to your right and . . . — Map (db m3509) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — From Church to Hospital | | | As the tumult of battle subsided, new sounds filled the air; the cries and moans of wounded soldiers. Two days of fighting around Salem Church left about 4,000 men killed or wounded. As soon as the battle ended, Confederate surgeons turned the building into a field hospital. Their work saved hundreds of lives.
Still, 92 Union soldiers and an unknown number of Confederates died at the church and were buried just outside its doors. For several days, surgeons worked tirelessly inside the . . . — Map (db m3510) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — Refuge from Horror | | | The arrival of contending armies in December 1862 forced thousands of residents to leave Fredericksburg. Most fled into the countryside, bound for homes or churches in Spotsylvania County. One Confederate officer remembered seeing old women, children with dolls, and mothers carrying a baby in one hand and a bag of flour in the other. “Where they were going we could not tell,” he wrote, “and I doubt if they could.” Several hundred ended up here at Salem Church. . . . — Map (db m3512) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — 23rd Regt., N. J. Vols. | | | 1861 - 1865
(North face): Monument to commemorate the services of the Twenty-Third Regiment New Jersey Volunteers Infantry, in the battle of Salem Church, Virginia, May 3rd, 1863.
Erected by the State of New Jersey, under the authority of an act passed at the session of 1906. Introduced in the House of Assembly by Samuel K. Robbins, Speaker. Approved by Edward, C Stokes, Governor.
Commissioners: Genl. E. Burd Grubb; Capt. E. H. Kirkbride; O. M. S. Thomas J. Alcott. . . . — Map (db m3514) | | Virginia (Spotsylvania County), Waverly Village — 15th Reg’t. N. J. Vol’s | | | 1861 - 1865
(South face): To commemorate the services of the 15th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Colonel William H. Penrose, U.S.A., engaged two hours on this line of battle on the Federal side.
May 3rd, 1863.
———
Loss:
41 killed, 109 wounded, 4 missing.
(East face): The survivors of the 15th New Jersey Regiment honor the memory of their comrades. Who bore themselves bravely in this contest, and bear witness to the valor . . . — Map (db m3516) |
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