Emancipation in Salem

In the opening year of the Civil War, a church in Salem was built for enslaved and free black Moravians, with its cornerstone laid on August 24, 1861, and its consecration on December 15, replacing an earlier log building where the congregation, formed in 1822, had worshiped. Near the end of the war, after the 10th Ohio Cavalry arrived to occupy Salem on May 14, 1865, the regiment's chaplain, the Rev. Seth G. Clark, addressed the congregation there on May 21. After preaching from 1 Corinthians 7:21, he read General Order 32 from Gen. John M. Schofield, announcing that under the President of the United States' proclamation the slave population of North Carolina was now free, then urged industry, honesty, and piety as freedom brought greater responsibilities. Church records remembered the moment as a joyous occasion for enslaved people, and the congregation's life continued afterward, with large Sunday School attendance noted on May 28, 1865, and an addition built in 1890 to provide more classroom space.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina · United States