My ancestors never owned slaves, but lived in Lexington County South Carolina prior to, during and after the Civil War. They had a small farm and were responsible for a good portion of the construction of St. Stephen’s Lutheran church, built in 1831, the first Church in the area. In 1865, General Kilpatrick, part of General Shernan’s army, burned their farm, salted and destroyed their small fields, and killed all the livestock. Kilpatrick went on to burn the St. Stephens church to the ground. My ancestors fled temporarily to Northwestern SC. I guess my ancestor’s were simply guilty of being in the wrong place, but travel and relocation were not simple endeavors in the 1800’s unless you were fleeing with no possessions but your life. My ancestors arrived in Charleston SC in the early 1700’s, with a desire to bring Christian values to the New World, so they had already moved quite a distance to get to Lexington County. Later in life, in the 1920’s, my family’s property was taken by the government to support the building of a hydroelectric plant. Today, none of my family are able to visit their graves, as their bodies lie deep under the cold waters of Lake Murray. Their graves were not moved, but simply flooded over. To complain of this was a waste of time, but I have feelings that these acts constituted war crimes. F reparations.

My ancestors never owned slaves, but lived in Lexington County SC prior to, during and after the Civil War. They had a small farm and were responsible for a good portion of the construction of St. Stephen’s Lutheran church, built in 1831, the first Church in the area. In 1865, General Kilpatrick, part of General Shernan’s army, burned their farm, salted and destroyed their small fields, and killed all the livestock. Kilpatrick went on to burn the St. Stephens church to the ground. My ancestors fled temporarily to Northwestern SC. I guess my ancestor’s were simply guilty of being in the wrong place, but travel and relocation were not simple endeavors in the 1800’s unless you were fleeing with no possessions but your life. My ancestors arrived in Charleston SC in the early 1700’s, with a desire to bring Christian values to the New World, so they had already moved quite a distance to get to Lexington County. Later in life, in the 1920’s, my family’s property was taken by the government to support the building of a hydroelectric plant. Today, none of my family are able to visit their graves, as their bodies lie deep under the cold waters of Lake Murray. Their graves were not moved, but simply flooded over. To complain of this was a waste of time, but I have feelings that these acts constituted war crimes. F reparations.