St. Philip's Church, Brunswick Town, is a ruined

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

in Brunswick County,

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church was erected in 1768 and destroyed in 1776. The ruins are located beside the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a blackwater river in east-central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River in the town of ...

in the Brunswick Town Historic District, along with

Fort Anderson Fort Anderson can refer to: *Fort Anderson (Kentucky); A Union fort used in the American Civil War and site of the Battle of Paducah, Kentucky *Fort Anderson (North Carolina); A Confederate fort used in the American Civil War *Fort Anderson Located ...

, Russelborough, and the nearby

Orton Plantation The Orton Plantation is a historic Plantation house in the Southern United States, plantation house in Smithville Township, Brunswick County, North Carolina, Smithville Township in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. Located beside ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces attacked Brunswick Town in 1776 and burned the church. Before its demise, the church was considered one of the finest religious structures in

. On February 26, 1970, the historic site was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

History

In 1741, the St. Philip's Parish was created in Brunswick Town with Rev. James Moir as the first

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

. It was the sister church of St. James Church, Wilmington. Construction of St. Philip's Church began in 1754, but was not completed until 1768. The first minister to lead the new church was Rev. John Barnett and

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Arthur Dobbs Arthur Dobbs (2 April 1689 – 28 March 1765) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of North Carolina from 1754 to 1764. Early life and career Arthur Dobbs was born in Girvan, Ayrshire where his mot ...

designated St. Philip's as "His Majesty’s Chapel in North Carolina." Barnett was succeeded by J. Cramp and Nicholas Christian. During the

forces attacked Brunswick Town in 1776 and burned the church, Russelborough, and most of the settlement. The church walls were the only parts of the structure not to be destroyed. Brunswick Town was deserted and the church remains were relatively untouched for almost a century. In March 1862,

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

engineers began to survey the remains of Brunswick Town and St. Philip's Church. They built earthworks and trenches throughout the town, covering the remains of several burnt structures except for the church. The fort was constructed to protect the city of Wilmington upstream, a vital port during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The bastion was named Fort St. Philip, but renamed Fort Anderson in July 1863. During the attack on Fort Anderson in February 1865, cannonballs shot from Union ships hit the walls of the church and are still evident today. Confederate soldiers

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

(KIA) were initially placed inside the church. When the Confederate forces were defeated, Union soldiers desecrated several graves at St. Philip's Church and removed the building's

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

. In 1899, the newly formed Cape Fear Chapter of the North Carolina Society of the

Colonial Dames of America The Colonial Dames of America (CDA) is an American organization comprising women who descend from one or more ancestors who lived in British North America between 1607 and 1775, and who aided the colonies in public office, in military service, or ...

visited the historic site to pay homage to American Revolutionary War casualties in Brunswick Town. In 1902, Cape Fear Chapter erected a marble plaque inside St. Philip's to commemorate Brunswick Town co-founder, Maurice Moore. Excavations at Brunswick Town began in 1958 and items such as bullets, buttons, and a cannonball were retrieved from inside the ruins. The building is now part of the Brunswick Town State historic site. Visitors may walk through the church and tour the earthworks of nearby Fort Anderson.

Architecture

The ruins consist of four brick walls, as well as graves located inside and outside of the church. The bricks used for construction were imported from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the walls measure three feet (0.91 m) thick. The building is 76 feet, six inches (23.3 m) long, 53 feet, three inches (16.2 m) wide, and 24 feet, four inches (7.4 m) high. The floor and roof were destroyed in the fire, as well as the three doors and eleven windows that measured fifteen by seven feet (4.6 m x 2.1 m). The church floor was made of wood, except for the aisles which featured one-foot-square (0.3 m) brick tiles that formed the shape of a cross. The pews were wooden and the Governor's pew was raised above the others. Twelve burial sites are located inside the church and there are several graves remaining outside of the structure that were not desecrated by Union troops.

Notable burials

Notable people buried at St. Philip's Church include

, Governor Benjamin Smith, and

Supreme Court Associate Justice An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1 ...

Alfred Moore Alfred Moore (May 21, 1755 – October 15, 1810) was an American judge, lawyer, planter and military officer who became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Moore Square, a park located in the Moore Square Histo ...

References

External links

History

Architecture

Notable burials

See also

References

External links