The Strachan House

The Strachan House. The Bermuda Hundred Campaign. This house was constructed in 1841 by Rev. John Alexander Strachan, founder of Enon Baptist Church. Rev. Strachan also preached at several other congregations in the area. Family stories describe him rowing a boat across the Appomattox River to preach at Broadway with his "great brindle dog…sometimes swimming behind the boat.”, When the Union army occupied Point of Rocks in May of 1864 a field hospital quickly sprang up on the property with this house serving as the Surgeon's quarters. Enon Baptist Church was demolished by Union troops and the lumber was brought here to be used in the hospital. The Strachan family was forced from their home, and most of their possessions were destroyed., As fighting in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign reached its peak, the area around the house became a large open air operating room. A surgeon reported that “After an action crowds were heaped upon us. The, house, tents and all the shady corners of the orchard were crowded with sufferers and groups of surgeons were busy at their operating tables far into the night.", Following the war, in a plea for the return of his property, Rev. Strachan wrote: “This land is my homestead, the place of my birth. I have nothing left me now but my land, all my other property has been destroyed, even including my wearing apparel and I am the husband of a delicate wife and the father of several children.”, Strachan and his family returned to Point of Rocks in 1866 and he spent the rest of his life here. The house remained in Rev. Strachan's family until 2013, when this park was established. The house is listed on the National, State and County Register of Historic Places., “It is a neatly painted four-roomed house of one story. Already, one room had been set apart for the wounded and another for surgeon’s quarters. Some of the women of the family attempted to remain and occupy the other rooms, but a few hours convinced them of their mistake. The shady grove around the house offered a cool space for the sun struck, who came back in such numbers from the front, and in a few days, convenient space for our hospital tents.” , Description of the Strachan House by Dr. James A. Emmerton, Assistant Surgeon, 23rd Regiment Mass. Vol. Infantry., (caption) , The Strachan House with its double chimneys can be seen in the background of this photograph. The photographer (posing in the tree) is believed to be Egbert G. Fowx who was employed by Alexander Gardner. , This sign was sponsored by Colonel and Mrs. William C. Lowe, Tabernacle, NJ