Near Luray in Culpeper County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Culpeper's Revolutionary War Patriots of Color

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, November 15, 2025

1. Culpeper's Revolutionary War Patriots of Color Marker

Inscription. Culpeper County had many Patriots of Color, free and enslaved, who fought and aided America in the Revolutionary War. Spencer Slaughter, an enslaved man owned by Col. James Slaughter, accompanied Slaughter's son Philip during the Revolution where he attended him as his enslaved body servant and stable master. In that role Spencer carried messages, cooked at encampments, and witnessed the surrender at Yorktown. Other Patriots of Color from Culpeper County or who later lived here included: Francis, Thomas, and William Bunday; Thomas Campbell, William Clarke, Joseph and Luke Hughes, Zachariah Hill, Benjamin Newell, James Peters, Philip Phillips, John Rolls, Reuben and Jonathan Ross, Thomas Shaw, Joseph Tyler, William Underwood, Moses Watkins, Henry Welch, and unknown others.

Erected 2025 by The Culpeper Museum of History.

Topics. This memorial is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Patriots & Patriotism • War, US Revolutionary.

Location. 38° 23.114′ N, 78° 3.03′ W. Memorial is near Luray, Virginia, in Culpeper County. It is on Cedar Mountain Drive

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(Virginia Route 649) 0.2 miles north of Mitchell Road ( Route 652), on the right when traveling south. Marker is in front of Divine Life Full Gospel Baptist Church. Touch for map. Memorial is at or near this postal address: 23130 Cedar Mountain Drive, Rapidan VA 22733, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this memorial is in the Washington Metropolitan Area

and in Northern Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

and in the Mid-Atlantic.

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.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: George Washington Carver Regional High School (approx. 1½ miles away); Battle of Cedar Mountain (approx. 1½ miles away); Mitchells Presbyterian Church (approx. 1½ miles away); a different marker also

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, November 15, 2025

2. Culpeper's Revolutionary War Patriots of Color Marker

named Battle of Cedar Mountain (approx. 1½ miles away); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (approx. 1.7 miles away); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (approx. 1.7 miles away); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (approx. 1.7 miles away); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (approx. 1.7 miles away).

Other markers no longer nearby. Battle of Cedar Mountain (was approx. 1½ miles away but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (was approx. 1½ miles away but has been reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it); a different marker also named The Battle of Cedar Mountain (was approx. 1.7 miles away but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (was approx. 1.7 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it); Cedar Mountain (was approx. 1.7 miles away but has been permanently removed); a different marker also named Battle of Cedar Mountain (was approx. 1.7 miles away but has been

Chapel for Divine Life Full Gospel Baptist Church image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Evan Dwyer, November 15, 2025

3. Chapel for Divine Life Full Gospel Baptist Church

The Marker is in the berm between the church's parking lot and Cedar Mountain Road. The church's modern name, Divine Life Full Gospel Baptist, came about only recently (2020s) - the chapel itself was built in the early 1890s and held its first service in 1893 as All Saints' Episcopal Church, a name which it retained for most of the next century.

reported to have been replaced with another marker now near it).

More about this memorial. The marker's location was probably picked for its proximity to the Philip Slaughter's Farm "Highland," which stood on the shelf of Cedar Mountain at 23042 Cedar Mountain Drive until it was replaced by a modern house in the same location ca. 1986. Spencer Slaughter lived at Highland with Philip Slaughter after the Revolutionary War, and the church site where the marker stands was originally home to Old Calvary Church - built by Philip Slaughter for local worship, and also where he served as reverend. Old Calvary burned in 1864, whereafter Rev. Slaughter gave up his ministry; the current church was erected to replace it in only in the 1890s.

Additional commentary.
1. About the marker
It is important to remember that slaves, such as Spencer, did not have a choice where they went or what they did for their owners during the Revolutionary War. Notably, many slaves risked their lives to run away and join the British under a promise of freedom in return for their allegiance. The reasons others would support the rebellion's side of the conflict,

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besides the basic realities of slavery, are numerous and complex.

— Submitted December 22, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 22, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 21, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 442 times since then and 386 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on December 21, 2025, by Evan Dwyer of Richmond, Virginia. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.