Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Historic St. Luke's Church
War Comes to the Old Brick Church
Photographed by Bernard Fisher, May 28, 2017
1. Historic St. Luke's Church Marker
Inscription.
Historic St. Luke's Church. War Comes to the Old Brick Church. Early in the war, Confederate authorities were concerned that Union forces might advance up the James River from Fort Monroe. As a precaution, they constructed waterfront artillery batteries along the river, including in Isle of Wight County, and posted infantry regiments nearby to protect them. This brought the war to the sleepy grounds of St. Luke's Church, when Col. W. Dorsey Pender's 3rd North Carolina Volunteers (later reorganized as the 13th North Carolina Infantry) camped here. Pender's regiment was part of Gen. John Pemberton's brigade, and supported a North Carolina battery located at the mouth of Jones Creek north of the church. In July 1861, Pender wrote his wife, "You will see that I call this place Camp Ruffin. The location and appearance of the camp are anything but agreeable in looks and or in comfort. We have three camps stretching over about three and half miles.”, Union Assistant Adjutant General William Whipple reported in November 1861 that escaped slaves told him of a large Confederate force on the grounds of the “old brick church near Smithfield." In the spring of 1862, Confederate forces crossed the river to oppose Union Gen. George McClellan's advance up the Peninsula toward Richmond. A subsequent article in Harper's Weekly reported that after the camp was vacated, the church "was left entirely despoiled of everything movable or destructible.”, (captions) , Confederate camp, 1861 – Courtesy Library of Congress , Pvt. John L. Wood, 3rd North Carolina Volunteers, 1861 Courtesy Library of Congress , St. Lukes Church, ca. 1920 photo – Courtesy Isle of Wight County Museum
Early in the war, Confederate authorities were concerned that Union forces might advance up the James River from Fort Monroe. As a precaution, they constructed waterfront artillery batteries along the river, including in Isle of Wight County, and posted infantry regiments nearby to protect them. This brought the war to the sleepy grounds of St. Luke's Church, when Col. W. Dorsey Pender's 3rd North Carolina Volunteers (later reorganized as the 13th North Carolina Infantry) camped here. Pender's regiment was part of Gen. John Pemberton's brigade, and supported a North Carolina battery located at the mouth of Jones Creek north of the church. In July 1861, Pender wrote his wife, "You will see that I call this place Camp Ruffin. The location and appearance of the camp are anything but agreeable in looks and or in comfort. We have three camps stretching over about three and half miles.”
Union Assistant Adjutant General William Whipple reported in November 1861 that escaped slaves told him of a large Confederate force on the grounds of the “old brick church near Smithfield." In the spring of 1862, Confederate
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forces crossed the river to oppose Union Gen. George McClellan's advance up the Peninsula toward Richmond. A subsequent article in Harper's Weekly reported that after the camp was vacated, the church "was left entirely despoiled of everything movable or destructible.”
(captions)
Confederate camp, 1861 – Courtesy Library of Congress
Pvt. John L. Wood, 3rd North Carolina Volunteers, 1861 Courtesy Library of Congress
St. Lukes Church, ca. 1920 photo – Courtesy Isle of Wight County Museum
Location. 36° 56.352′ N, 76° 35.186′ W. Marker is in Smithfield, Virginia, in Isle of Wight County. It can be reached from Benns Church Boulevard (Virginia Route 10) south of Casper Circle, on the right when traveling west. Located in the church parking lot. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14477 Benns Church Blvd,
Regionally, this marker is in Coastal Virginia and in the Hampton Roads Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in the Tidewater, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on May 30, 2017. It was originally submitted on May 29, 2017, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 721 times since then and 42 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on May 29, 2017, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.
