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 . . . — — Map (db m3497) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m3499) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m5621) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m3503) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m3505) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m3506) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m3509) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m3510) HM
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, . . . — — Map (db m3512) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m3514) HM
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. . . . — — Map (db m3516) HM
