Mount Horeb Church

Mount Horeb Church. Confederate “enraged birds”. In June 1864, to deny Gen. Robert E. Lee the use of the South Side R.R. and the Richmond and Danville R.R., Gen. Ulysses S. Grant sent Gen. James H. Wilson and Gen. August V. Kautz south of Petersburg on a cavalry raid to destroy track and rolling stock. Following the Union defeat at Staunton River Bridge on June 25, the raiders raced for the safety of the Federal lines at Petersburg, harried all the way by Confederate cavalrymen. One such skirmish occurred here, when about 300 men from Gen. Rufus Barringer’s North Carolina Brigade struck the rear of the column to keep the pressure on the Federal force. Meanwhile, Gen. Robert E. Lee directed combined Confederate cavalry, infantry, and artillery to set a trap for the raiders in the vicinity of Ream's Station., (sidebar) , Mount Horeb Baptist Church began in 1855 with a group of men meeting under a large oak tree. In 1858, a small weatherboarded frame church was dedicated. A new building was built in 1890 and another in 1914 – a sketch of the original Mount Horeb Baptist Church, by C.P. Johnson., “The column moved out, and the party that went to find a vehicle [for several wounded men] were soon driven in by the enemy, and the project was abandoned.” - Trooper Isaac Gause, Co. E, 2nd Ohio Cavalry, “The rear of my brigade (First District of Columbia Cavalry) were attacked by small parties of rebels about 5 P.M., but were successfully repulsed.” - Col. Samuel Spear, Commander, Second Brigade, Kautz's Division, “[The Confederates] could not strike hard, but it was like the blows of enraged birds on the hawk. They were demoralizing and driving. And driving the enemy right into the ruin prepared for them, when they expected peace and rest.” - Pvt. Paul B. Means, Co. F, 5th North Carolina Cavalry