Grace Historical Church Preservation Foundation Report
May 2011
Our Civil War Connection
by Lois Winter
This
year and next there will be commemorative events for the 150th anniversary
of the Civil War on the peninsula. On April 17, 1861, Virginia voted to
secede from the Union. June 10 of the same year, the Battle of Big Bethel,
the first land battle of the Civil War, took place near the current Big
Bethel Reservoir. In March of the following year, 1862, 120,000 Union
troops under the leadership of General George McClellan landed at Ft.
Monroe and made their way to Yorktown. They brought with them 300 pieces
of artillery, 2500 head of cattle, and more than 25,000 horses and mules.
Where did they put them in little Yorktown?! At the time it was called
the "largest amphibious operation ever seen by the modern world."
We have photographs of our church surrounded by some of that artillery.
We recently discovered another Grace connection to the Civil War era.
As Kevin James was sanding the window frame on the north side of the church,
he uncovered graffiti carved into the wood that read, "R W Moreland
August 16, 1870." I asked local historian Frank Green what he knew
about Yorktown in this time period, five years after the end of the Civil
War.
According to Frank, reconstruction had ended and Virginia was ready to
reenter the Union. The state basically had to start over from nothing.
In searching the county records, Frank found that 1870 was the year that
Virginia adopted a new state constitution that called for the revamping
of county governments. As a result, The York County Board of Supervisors
first met on October 3, 1870. (2 months after the graffiti) At that time,
the Board decided to build three buildings: a County court clerk's office,
a courthouse and a jail.
I decided to check the names on the War Monument in front of York Hall
which lists names of York County residents who gave their lives in past
wars. Under those who died in the Civil War, there was a listing for "Darius
Moreland." Possibly a relative of R W Moreland? Clues to the past
are offered by the building that witnessed it.
Update on Repairs
It is an honor for the Grace Historic Church Preservation Foundation
to play a role in restoring the little church that still stands after
surviving all these past events. The Foundation has spent over $14,000,
collected from private donations, to support the team of David Miller,
Daryl Douglas and Kevin James as they work on the restoration of the sanctuary.
They have been meticulously painting and replacing rotting wood while
they carefully preserve historical accuracy. The following is an update
of what they have accomplished:
- The stucco walls were repaired and painted, cracks were filled with
an elastomeric compound, and two coats of paint were applied.
- The trim fascia boards and soffits were stripped to bare wood, primed
with oil base primer, and were painted with two final coats of paint
by Kevin James.
- At the back facade of the sanctuary, cornice moldings were hand-fabricated
and placed by Daryl Douglass.
- Wrought-iron rails and vents were sanded and painted.
- All exterior doors were restored, repainted, or replaced. This included
the custom fabrication of a door to the entrance of the crawl-space,
embellished with wrought- iron hardware.
- Kevin James has completed the restoration of the six sanctuary windows.
This restoration included the following: the wood rot was repaired,
the window panes were glazed, and the woodwork was primed and painted
with two exterior coats.
- The interior surfaces of the six sanctuary windows were also stripped
bare and repainted with high gloss oil base paint.
- The circular, exterior window of the front facade was refurbished
by Daryl Douglass. This involved the replacement of circular trim pieces,
which were made by hand.
- The Sacristy windows are currently being restored by Daryl Douglass
and David Miller.
The
Foundation wishes to thank David, Daryl, and Kevin for their work which
reflects their dedication to historical preservation. The people of Grace
can be proud of our old building as we welcome visiting tourists to the
site where two wars were fought and so many lives were lost. With its
fresh paint and new trim, our little church truly stands as a beacon to
the nation, and a reminder of the events that shaped our history.
|
