Terror at the Greek
Revival Baptist Church

THE GREEK REVIVAL BAPTIST CHURCH was constructed in 1856. An elegant building, which showed the comfortable level of prosperity enjoyed by the town in the antebellum era, it was built on Market Square between Market Square Tavern and the Magazine. The large, regal structure was made of bricks that were painted white. It had marble pillars and a long staircase that flowed onto the street. The church consisted of three stories; the first floor was built slightly below ground level. Towering above most buildings, the structure was a landmark in nineteenth-century Williamsburg.

The church’s interior held rich mahogany pews that were filled with enthusiastic worshipers every Sunday morning. Their joyous music could be heard all over town. Freshly cut flowers were placed throughout the sanctuary for Sunday’s inspiring services. However, after the Battle of Williamsburg, this atmosphere changed forever.

The Greek Revival was one of the many public buildings which was quickly converted into a makeshift hospital for the men who fell in the nearby fight. The church served as a refuge for the most critically wounded Confederates. Towns-people became first-hand witnesses to the horrors of war as they came to help the injured. A local woman wrote, "Inside the church, the smell of decaying flesh made it difficult to breathe. In the corner of the room was a pile of human arms and legs. A trail of blood ran out the door and into the muddy street."

Shortly after the battle, Northern doctors arrived to lend aid. Although townspeople were terrified that the Federal surgeons would deliberately kill the wounded Southerners, most Northern doctors did their best to save the injured from both sides. At least, all but one. He was called "The Head Devil." No given name has ever been found for this sadistic man. He drank all day and truly enjoyed brutalizing his patients. Victims suffered mutilation under his care. Nevertheless, he was the surgeon in charge of the Greek Revival Baptist Church hospital.

Under his authority, amputations were performed needlessly. Piercing screams were heard throughout town as doctors sawed off limbs. The severed arms and legs were hastily buried on the property surrounding the building.

The death rate at this hospital was unusually high, even for battle conditions. Some soldiers died simply from neglect. Only eighteen out of every sixty Confederates would survive their stay at this church hospital. Over two hundred of the dead were buried in a mass grave beside the Magazine. It is believed their bodies remain there to this very day.

With all this tragedy, it’s no wonder spirits seem to linger on the ground of the former Baptist church. People have reported sightings of wounded and crippled soldiers roaming the darkened empty lot where the Greek Revival once stood. Faint sounds, reminiscent of those heard in a Civil War hospital, can sometimes be heard.

The Harrison family, who lodged at Market Square Tavern in June 1992, had an interesting story to tell about the place where the hospital once stood. At that time, the Harrisons had no idea their window overlooked the site where such agony took place. Mrs. Hannah Harrison admitted, "We saw a young man digging in the ground directly under our window. We couldn’t imagine what he was looking for at that time of night. As we watched, we realized he was dressed in a Confederate uniform. We naturally assumed he was an actor who worked on the grounds some time earlier that day. It wasn’t long before we noticed he had only one arm. He was desperately pawing at the ground with his only hand.

"In the morning, we asked the clerk what had been going on in Market Square the previous day. She said, ‘absolutely nothing.’ Later that night, we learned the story of the Greek Revival Baptist Church during the "Haunted Williamsburg Tour." It talks about the mass graves and amputation pits on the property. My son suggested that perhaps the ghost of the dead soldier was scratching at the ground looking for his missing arm."

Although the church hospital where so many died has been gone for decades, it seems the wandering souls of its anguished patients remain. It could be they linger on the former grounds of the Greek Revival Baptist Church, unable to rest until the remnants of their shattered bodies have been found.