Bethany A. R. P. Church cemetery at Brices Crossroads

BRICES CROSSROADS BATTLEFIELD TOUR STOP 8

The eighth stop on a tour of the Brices Crossroads battlefield is the Bethany Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church cemetery, home to a Confederate soldier mass grave. The cemetery is located right next to Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site. This is also where the original Bethany A. R. P. Church once stood. Built in 1852, the church was the scene of heavy fighting during the battle; it was even used as a hospital immediately afterwards. All that remains now is the cemetery. A new church, built in 1956, is located across the street.

The Confederate graves are located in the back of the cemetery. While there are ninety-eight headstones, there are only thirty or so men buried in the mass grave underneath the stones. Knowledge of these burials comes from the writings of Reverend Samuel Agnew, the pastor of the church from 1867 until 1902. The reason there are more headstones than bodies is because many of the men noted on the stones were actually buried on the battlefield, and while their names were known, the locations of their graves were lost. While some Confederate soldiers who died in the battle were buried elsewhere by family members, there were ninety-eight men unaccounted for. Thus, headstones to honor them were erected on the site of the mass grave. A list of headstones and a brief history of the cemetery is posted on a bulletin board near the graves.