Telling the Civil War Story of Little Fork Church, Virginia

Little Fork Church in Rixeyville, Virginia, was built during the American Revolution and has long been at the heart of its community — home to several congregations and a meeting place for important events, including the mustering of the local militia and preparations for war.

The church in the Civil War

Before the first shots of the Civil War, a company called the "Little Fork Rangers" formed and drilled at the church; it later became part of the 4th Virginia Cavalry. In the winter of 1863, with firewood desperately scarce, soldiers of the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry burned the church's wooden pews to keep warm.

Sharing the story

Today's congregation wants to tell that local history as part of a wider community project. With a Battlefield Interpretation Grant, Little Fork Episcopal Church will draw up a full interpretation plan for its 16-acre property, including interpretive signs and designs for trails. Following current accessibility practice, the plan aims to turn the church grounds into a place for recreation and learning for the whole community, centred on local Civil War history.

The grant program

Battlefield Interpretation Grants, from the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program, help preservation partners modernise and improve how battlefields are interpreted, creating places that inspire a wide range of visitors to come, understand and empathise with the soldiers and civilians who lived through some of the nation's hardest times. The program also offers Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants, Battlefield Restoration Grants and Preservation Planning Grants, encouraging community-led care of historic places at the state, tribal and local levels.

Sources

Based on the American Battlefield Protection Program's grant profile of Little Fork Episcopal Church, "Soldiers at Little Fork Church: Connecting Modern Communities by Interpreting Civil War History," published by the National Park Service; rewritten in hubnx's own words.

• The profile says the church was built during the American Revolution and has anchored its community "for nearly 300 years"; the two do not agree, so no age is given here.
• The profile's photograph of the Brandy Station battlefield, credited to a private landscape architect, is not reproduced.