White Oak Church - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

"Across the road stands White Oak Church, an important civil War landmark during the winter of 1862-1863. Stafford County Baptists constructed the simple weatherboard structure sometime after 1789, later adding an attached shed with a separate entrance for African-American members of the congregation. A Union soldier described it disparagingly as a “miserable, insignificant structure, dilapidated and steepleless, and it seems to have belonged to some former age. It looks” he thought, “very much like some ancient horse shed and barn that may be seen in some or our less thriving villages.”

With the arrival of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, White Oak Church instantly became the center of one of the largest communities in Virginia. For seven months, 20,000 soldiers of the VI Corps camped in the immediate area. During that time the church served alternately as a military hospital, a United States Christian Commission station, and as a photographic studio. Fifty-two soldiers who died during the encampment were buried on the church grounds. Their bodies were later moved to Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

Type of site: Church Address: 985 White Oak Rd Falmouth, VA USA 22405 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Post a picture of site showing the signage or other notable feature. Please tell what you saw or learned.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   01/24/2015 Moorephun visited it 03/04/2010 La de Boheme visited it

View all visits/logs