The Soldier Bishop: Ellison Capers

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Faith Memorial Chapel

Ellison Capers’ life is the story of an educator, soldier, priest, and bishop who found strength in his unshakable faith as he led and served others.

With an unshakeable faith as his foundation, The Rt. Reverend Ellison Capers lived through some of America’s most turbulent times yet discovered within himself a fortitude that guided his life through war, love, faith, and salvation.

Over the course of his 71 years, this South Carolina native went from being a math professor to serving as a Brigadier General in the Civil War to becoming the Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. During his 20 years of service as Rector at Christ Church in Greenville, S.C., he also founded Faith Chapel in nearby Cedar Mountain, N.C., at the encouragement of his wife. Though it fell into disrepair following his death, by the 1930s the need for a summer place of worship led to the rebuilding of Faith Memorial Chapel dedicated to the memory of Bishop Capers and where services are still held today.

“The Soldier Bishop: Ellison Capers” exhibition will take visitors through a detailed account that spans more than a century and reveals the impact one life can have on so many people. These chronicles are accentuated with a wide range of historical pieces, from Capers’ original sword and the actual musket balls that nearly killed him to the handwritten letters to his wife from the battlefield and preserved renderings for the rebuilding the Chapel.