Virginia Department of Historic Resources Virginia Department of Historic Resources
For additional information, read the Nomination Form PDF
VLR Listing Date 02/20/1990
NRHP Listing Date 01/24/1991
NRHP Reference Number 90002137
This country Greek Revival brick church was built in 1859 to serve a congregation founded in 1788. It was at Massaponax Baptist Church, on May 21, 1864, that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant held a war council following the Union victory at the battle of Spotsylvania Court House. Soldiers removed the pews from the Massaponax Baptist Church and arranged them in a circle in the yard. Timothy O’Sullivan, a photographer traveling with the army, captured the scene on glass plates. The widely published photograph shows Grant with several of his generals, as well as assistant secretary of war Charles A. Dana. One of the outstanding photographers of the mid-19th century, O’Sullivan is known for his subsequent images of the American west, as well as for his record of the Civil War. His unique war-time photographs show the generals and their staffs conferring, studying maps, and writing dispatches.
Many properties listed in the registers are private dwellings and are not open to the public, however many are visible from the public right-of-way. Please be respectful of owner privacy.
Abbreviations:
VLR: Virginia Landmarks Register
NPS: National Park Service
NRHP: National Register of Historic Places
NHL: National Historic Landmark
Updated: March 7, 2022
