| Union army destroyed historic church | |
During the occupation of Murfreesboro, few things infuriated local
residents more than the destruction of First Presbyterian Church and the
“desecration” of the City Cemetery by Union troops.
“There has been an unprecedented destruction of property both private
and public, and even the resting-places of the dead, where the remains
of many dear, loved ones were deposited and the sanctuary itself, where
we & many of the venerated dead had been accustomed to meet for the
worship of God, have been and still are desolated and desecrated!” wrote
the Rev. William Eagleton, who served more than 40 years as pastor.
The church site and the Old City Cemetery earned a spot on the Tennessee
Preservation Trust’s “Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites” for 2008.
Ranking No. 4 on the list, the preservation group said, “Dating to the
early 1820s, this was the first cemetery in the city of Murfreesboro and
the site of the original First Presbyterian Church, which also served as
the state capitol building during the 1822 legislative session. The
graves and architectural elements in the historic burying ground are
suffering from neglect and improper care, and professional conservation
work is needed to maintain this hallowed landscape.”
The cemetery is located in the 300 block of Vine Street just east of the
intersection of Vine and Maney Avenue. State Street borders it on the
back.
Capt. William Lytle donated the land for First Presbyterian in 1818 and
by 1820 the congregation had completed what was the first church
building in Murfreesboro. Previously, the church met in a log
schoolhouse near Murfree Springs (Children’s Discovery Center.)
Prolific diarist John Spence wrote the church was “A brick building
forty by sixty ft, two storys, windows, painted shutters, three doors in
front, two leading to the gallery, finishing off with a cupaloe, about
seventy feet high, neatly finished with painted shutters, a large golden
ball on the top, a hundred and twenty five pounds bell. The inside work,
a gallery on two sides and end, pannel work all round, also three rows
seats round the gallery. The whole supported above and below with turned
pillars, standing at proper distance apart. The lower story, all pewed,
closed with doors. An elevated pulpit, about three feet from the floor,
stair way either side for entrance with doors, seating three men. All
well finished and neatly painted. Pews all numbered on the doors. This,
the general appearance. The work of the whole building was undertaken by
Benj. Goldson, at a cost of about four thousand dollars.”
It was an appropriately designed church for what was then Tennessee’s
state capital, a distinction Murfreesboro held from 1818 to 1826. At the
time, it was the largest building in Murfreesboro with the exception of
the courthouse, where the Tennessee General Assembly met.
Just before the 1822 legislative session began, the courthouse burned.
First Presbyterian Church was quickly remodeled to house the
legislature. The state House met on the second floor and the Senate
convened on the ground level.
The 1822 session was an important one historically. It marked the
beginning of Andrew Jackson’s rise to the presidency with the Tennessee
legislature, meeting in Murfreesboro, nominating Jackson for the post.
Future President James K. Polk was clerk of the Senate. Sam Houston was
adjutant-general and frontiersman David Crockett was a member of the
House.
With the completion of a new Courthouse, the Presbyterian Church
returned to its original use and Murfreesboro continued to grow. By
1830, the town had 786 residents. The 1834 Tennessee Gazette profiled
the community:
“It is well laid out and handsomely situated near the West Branch of
Stone’s River; surrounded by a body of rich farming land under a high
stage of cultivation.
“It has an Academy and two schools, three churches, four clergymen, ten
lawyers, four physicians, a printing office, two cotton gins, one
carding machine, one gristmill, four blacksmiths, four bricklayers,
three haters, one painter, three saddlers, five shoemakers, one
silversmith, four tailors, one tinner, two taverns and ten or 12
stores.”
In 1837, Murfreesboro officials purchased the land adjacent to First
Presbyterian with the idea of expanding the church’s burial ground into
a community cemetery. Many of the town’s prominent leaders would be
buried there.
That would all change with the Civil War.
The last church service held there was in October 1862 with the
Confederate Army of Tennessee establishing a hospital in the building.
Confederate surgeons would care for wounded from both sides during and
after the Battle of Stones River, using, in some cases, supplies
provided by the U.S. Commissariat.
C. Lewis Diehl, 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry, wrote on Jan. 7, 1863:
“The hospital in which we are is an old Presbyterian Church and might be
made very comfortable, but as it is we have nothing except straw ticks
to lay on and a thin blanket for cover, with corn fodder for a pillow.
The surgeons - rebel - treat us very kindly and are doing as much for us
as they do for their own men. The ladies - rebel - who visit this
hospital generally slight us. Some few will attend to our wants. There
was a general apprehension by the rebels that our men would not treat
them kindly; but since they have received our stores, with permission to
help themselves to whatever they need, they think differently.”
With the Confederate wounded moved to Chattanooga and other points, the
hospital became a Federal operation. More than 500 Union and Confederate
dead were temporarily buried at the cemetery and were later relocated to
Stones River National Cemetery or Evergreen Cemetery.
No longer needed for a field hospital, the church was converted into a
stable and supply warehouse for Union cavalry.
The following winter (1863-1864) Union troops completely demolished the
church. Wooden fixtures were used for firewood and the brick was
converted into ovens and fireplaces for campgrounds. There was nothing
left of the structure by March 1864.
“Our town & county have been greately darnaged by the two Armies, they
distroed all the tember for miles a round burnt all the rails for 3 or 4
miles in all directions burnt & pulled down at least 50 houses in town &
of the number was the Old Presbyterian Church, destroed the fence a
round the graves broke toombstones & desscerated the grave yard
generally,” Joseph W. Nelson wrote in 1866.
While the cemetery was still used, the Presbyterian Church decided to
relocate, purchasing a lot at the corner of College and Spring streets
in 1868. That church was leveled by the March 21, 1913 tornado, but was
rebuilt on the same spot.
By the early 1870s, Murfreesboro officials were rethinking the use of
the City Cemetery as well with many families wanting to relocate their
loved ones.
On June 18, 1872, Murfreesboro’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen passed an
ordinance calling for the purchase of 20 acres of land from James Maney
for “Oakland” Cemetery. On April 3, 1873 a second ordinance was approved
changing the name from “Oakland” to “Evergreen.”
“It has been made known to the Mayor and Board of Aldermen that a large
number of persons who have relatives and friends buried in the old City
cemetery intend to soon move them to the said new cemetery,” the
ordinance read.
“It is not only desired that no additional burials will be had in the
old city cemetery, but it is hoped that all of the dead will be
transferred from the old cemetery to the new one, as early as may be
feasible and convenient,” the ordinance said, predicting that the old
burial site would become neglected.
Many of the dead were moved, but many more remained in the old cemetery.
A long period of neglect followed up to the 1920s.
In the early 1930s, the Daughters of the American Revolution took a
renewed interest in the cemetery, erecting markers to the memory of
Rutherford countians who fought in the Revolution. The DAR also erected
a tablet recalling First Presbyterian Church in September 1933. There is
also a State Historic Marker and a large marker dedicated to the memory
of Joseph Dickson, who played a role in the Battle of King’s Mountain.
Dickson settled in Murfreesboro after the Revolution and was a
Presbyterian elder.
Source: Mike West, Murfreesboro Post
http://www.murfreesboropost.com/union-army-destroyed-historic-church-cms-11227