Civil War Soldier to Be Reinterred at Church Site
Episcopal News Service. May 13, 1992 [92116F]
On May 16 a new page in Civil War history will be marked by the reinterment of a Confederate soldier at the St. James Cemetery, Brandy Station, Virginia. A Smithsonian Institution archaeological team uncovered the soldier's remains in 1989 while excavating the ruins of St. James Episcopal Church to access the site's eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places. The team identified the soldier as a native of New Orleans killed during the Battle of Rappahannock Station on August 23, 1862. "The battle at St. James Church marked the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign and the largest cavalry engagement of the Civil War," said Dr. Douglas Owsley, who headed the excavation. The reinterment service will be conducted by the Rev. Nancy James, rector of Christ Church, the descendant church of the original St. James Church.