Battle of Salem Church • Tour the Battlefield
The Battle of Salem Church monument is in front of the historic Salem Church along Plank Road (Virginia Route 3) 4 miles west of downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia and 1.5 miles west of exit 130 on Interstate 95 (38° 17.352′ N, 77° 31.882′ W; map to historic Salem Church)
The monument is one of ten placed by the Reverend James Powers Smith on battlefields around Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County in 1903. Smith had been a lieutenant on Jackson’s staff. The monuments were largely paid for by businessman Thomas F. Ryan. Other Smith monuments are the Lee-Jackson Bivouac at Chancellorsville, Arm of Stonewall Jackson at Ellwood, Jackson on the Field at Fredericksburg, Lee’s Hill at Fredericksburg, Stuart and Pelham at Fredericksburg, Stonewall Jackson died at Guinea Station, Lee to the Rear at the Wilderness and Lee’s Headquarters at Spotsylvania.
The Battle of Salem Church monument is in the pine trees near Plank Road. This photo looks south toward the group of two wayside markers and the Battle of Salem Church U.D.C. monument, with the Historic Salem Church in the distance.
From the monument:
Battle of
Salem Church
May 3, 1863
Brooks – Newton
vs
Wilcox – Semmes
Mahone