August 12, 2013

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.

11 comments:

  1. all that wood and what it has seen...

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  2. This looks as if it was a fascinating visit to the church. I'm glad you were able to visit with the Union 'doctor'.

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  3. The interior is way cool! Love the wood stove!

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  4. I'm so glad it is open now and there's an interpreter on site. The graffiti is always so interesting!

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  5. Both interior and exterior area looking simply better....

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  6. I love visiting old churches... this one sure has a great story to tell

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  7. i didn't even know there was such a thing as soldier graffiti, how interesting!

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  8. That's really neat. Thanks for sharing!

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  9. Very neat. I used to drive by there all the time when I worked nearby. I'll have to go back now that it is open each month.

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  10. Very cool to get to see inside like that.

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