Return of Federal Foraging Parties into Camp, Near Annandale Chapel, Va.

Union soldiers return to their encampment on the grounds of the Annandale Methodist Chapel with ample supplies of vegetables, livestock, and other provisions appropriated from local farms. This engraving, which first appeared in the November 23, 1862, edition of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, was later published in The Soldier in Our Civil War: A Pictorial History of the Conflict, 1861–1865, Illustrating the Valor of the Soldier as Displayed on the Battle-Field (1890). Annandale was behind Union lines during most of the Civil War, and following the Second Battle of Manassas in late August 1862, the church was used as temporary quarters by Union soldiers. Eventually the troops dismantled the church in building their winter quarters.

Church officials made repeated attempts to be compensated for their loss. On March 3, 1887, trustees of the church (then known as the Methodist Episcopal Church of Annandale) petitioned the federal claims court for the sum of $2,500 for the "use, occupation, and destruction of their church property by the military forces of the United States during the late Civil War." The court ruled in the trustees' favor, but the church did not receive any compensation. As late as 1914, the trustees petitioned the Senate and Congress to pay for the destruction of the church, claiming that their congregation had remained "loyal to the Government of the United States throughout the war." A court ruling agreed with the trustees—though the building was assessed at only $850.

Citation: The Soldier in Our Civil War: A Pictorial History of the Conflict, 1861–1865, Illustrating the Valor of the Soldier as Displayed on the Battle-Field. E468.7 .M9 1890 v.1. Special Collections, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.