Inside Historic Mt. Zion Church

I've been to the churchyard of Mt. Zion Church a number of times, mostly of Civil War field trips. The interior is rarely open but now that it is part of Northern Virginia Regional Parks, it is open on the 4th Sunday of each month from April to October.

I saw this in a Civil War Graffiti Trail brochure and made it a point to visit in July.

On my 1994 Mosby tour page you can see exterior of the church before it was restored. (Wow, how can that be 19 years ago? It seems like last year. Oh wait, I did go back there last year with the same class!)

On our recent visit, a couple of historical interpreters were on hand. A gentleman was dressed as a Civil War doctor and was happy to answer questions about how the wounded were treated when the church was used as a hospital following a nearby battle. On the wall behind him is an example of soldiers' graffiti that was recently uncovered and is now protected by plexiglas. I recently saw a similar display in the Union Church in Mt. Jackson, which unfortunately is not open very often. But many buildings in Virginia were used as hospitals during the Civil War.

Probably the most impressive display of Civil War graffiti is at Brandy Station near Culpeper. I just read that some is being uncovered in the courthouse in Woodstock, VA.