During the sprawling cavalry battle between October 31 and November 2, 1862, Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart successfully delayed Union Gen. George McClellan’s pursuit of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Stuart’s success led Abraham Lincoln to replace McClellan. On November 2, 1862, a Sunday morning, the Civil War swirled around the Methodist Church as infantry and cavalry of the Federal Army of the Potomac clashed with Stuart’s Confederate forces in the streets of Unison. Shells from both sides exploded as the worshipers fled. As the large Federal Army continued its march southward, they took over the church as a hospital. When the Methodists returned they found the pews stained with blood and the loft covered in graffiti from the soldiers recovering there. The Unison United Methodist Church is now the most prominent building in this small National Register village.
In the battle, the Confederates set up their artillery at the former Quaker Meeting House to resist the Union advance south from the center of Unison. Later, when the Union forces had overtaken the site, the Confederates shelled the Union soldiers milling about the Meeting House. Later, fallen soldiers were taken to the South Fork burial ground to be interred temporarily until they could be turned over to their respective sides.
See Photos (1)