Civil War Chapels

(Near) Petersburg, VA

Log chapel built by 50th NY Corps of Engineers near Petersburg, VA ca 1864 (Photo from National Civil War Chaplains Museum Facebook page).

Armory Square Hospital, Washington D.C.

Chapel and other buildings of Armory Square Hospital, which was located at 6th and B Streets, SW. The US Capitol building is in the distance. Photo taken August, 1865 (Photo from Ebay listing)

York, PA Civil War Hospital Chapel

The chapel building measured 20 x 28 x 14 feet. The chapel was used for religious services two days a week, and it also was used for entertainments, such as performances, concerts and lectures, that were open to the public. The building also housed a library and a heavily-used schoolroom for the patients. (From http://www.yorkblog.com/universal/2012/07/25/yorks-civil-war-hospital-convalescents-were-an-active-lot/)

(From http://www.yorkblog.com/universal/2012/07/25/yorks-civil-war-hospital-convalescents-were-an-active-lot/)

Christ Church, Alexandria Virginia

While not a chapel on a military post, according to the church’s brochure, “When the U.S. Army occupied Alexandria in 1861, it seized many churches for use as hospitals or stables. However, the reputation of Christ Church as George Washington’s place of worship preserved it as a church where U.S. Army chaplains conducted services. Parishioners who remained in the area worshiped elsewhere. In 1866, Christ Church, its interior intact, was restored to its parishioners.”