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11.14.2021: When hiking on Sundays I often find myself at the site of New Salem Church in #kennesawmountainnbp. It's so very peaceful there, and as I lean against a tree soaking in the beauty that surrounds me, I can almost imagine the worshipers gathering at their small church. From NPHistory: Standing on top of a wooded hill on the south side of Burnt Hickory Road, the log-built New Salem Baptist Church was the center of community worship and social activity. Each Sunday, area residents walked, rode their horses, and steered their carriages up the narrow, steep lane leading to the church house. Taking their pews, they listened to the Reverend Springer deliver his sermons. But weekly services stopped abruptly in June 1864 when a Confederate division entrenched in the churchyard. For two weeks, New Salem Church was used as a Confederate field hospital. Troops needing logs to construct their earthworks tore down the church, displacing its congregation. 

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