On Saturday, March 31st, the Brandy
Station Foundation will hold a battlefield workday from 9AM to
2PM at the historic St. James Church site. Those interested in
helping to maintain these hallowed grounds are invited to meet
at the Graffiti House in Brandy Station at 9 AM.
(Click for directions.)
Over the past one hundred
and forty years, periwinkle and trees have overgrown the site
where the St. James Episcopal Church once stood in Brandy
Station. During the June 9th, 1863 Battle of
Brandy Station, Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart was headquartered
near
this church at
Fleetwood Hill.
In 1969 a survey and
excavation of the Church cemetery by the Smithsonian Institute
uncovered the church's original foundation and an extensive
graveyard. Archeologists discovered that church pews had been
used to fashion coffins for those killed during the action.
While the church survived
the battle, it did not
survive the Army of the Potomac's massive
1863-64 winter encampment in Culpeper County. St. James Church
was dismantled and the brick structure was used to construct
walkways,
fireplaces and fire pits in the Federal camps. Today, the Christ
Episcopal Church owns the 2-acre parcel in Brandy Station. The
land is leased to and maintained by the Brandy Station
Foundation.
The purpose of the workday
is to provide routine maintenance at the site. The Foundation
will continue it efforts to clean up the area by eliminating
fallen trees, heavy brush and weeds to provide better access to
the site. In the future, the Foundation would like to create a
series of walking tails with proper signage to provide visitors
detailed information on the church’s historical and religious
significance.
Richard Deardoff, a teacher
at the Fauquier County High School, is organizing the workday at
St. James Church. It is scheduled to last from 9AM to 2PM.
Please meet at the Graffiti House in Brandy Station, 19484
Brandy Road, Brandy Station, Virginia. For more information call
540-727-7718.
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