A Confederate grave marker that was vandalized earlier this week was found toppled Thursday night, according to an official with the church.
During the night of June 14, unknown assailants had spray painted over the large grave marker, which is located at the burial site of 17 Confederate soldiers on the Grace Episcopal Church grounds in Silver Spring.
The soldiers buried there were killed during the 1864 Battle of Fort Stevens in Washington, D.C.
On Saturday, June 20, church members will gather to hang a large Black Lives Matter banner on the property as part of the church’s Juneteenth celebration.
About 60 percent of the parishioners at the church are white and about 40 percent are African Americans.
