City of Falls Church Civil War Trail
Falls Church was occupied during the Civil War by both the Confederate and then the Union Troops. It became a central place for the command of General Longstreet (U.S.) and was the first place in the U.S. for the use of aeronautics during warfare.
Fall’s Church
Falls Church
Trails sign located near pull-off
North Roosevelt Street and Ridge Place
Falls Church VA 22046
Road map
Material here highlights first Union occupation of this once-small farm town and the balloon ascensions here by the famed Thaddeus Lowe.
The Falls Church
Trails sign at 115 E Fairfax St, Falls Church VA 22046
Road map
The war temporarily ruined this 1769 church as Union forces based in the area used the building at a hospital and stable. Soldiers vandalized the interior, stripping the furnishings and leaving graffiti. The congregation formally returned to the church in 1873.
Harriet & George Brice
Trails sign at 115 E Fairfax St, Falls Church VA 22046
Road map
Harriett Brice, a “free woman of color” purchased land in 1864 and lived here with her husband, George, a former slave and member of the United States Colored Troops. They struggled during the war and suffered losses from troops camping in the area.
Falls Church Home Front (Cherry Hill Farm)
Trails sign at 312 Park Ave, Falls Church VA 22046
Road map
Because of Northern migration to the area before the war, the citizens of Falls Church were mixed in their loyalties. The area twice voted against secession. The residents of Cherry Hill Farm lost crops and livestock to both armies during the war, but the estate survived intact.
Galloway Methodist Church
Trails sign at 306 Annandale Road, Falls Church VA 22042
Road map
A Trails sign here describes the history of many of the “residents” of this African-American cemetery, established in 1867. Many of those interred here served as members of the United States Colored Troops or Home Guard. Eliza Henderson walked to Falls Church from Vicksburg MS, escaping slavery and rejoining her family.
Living in Fear
Trails sign at 44 W Broad St, Falls Church VA 22046
Road map
Confederate ranger Col. John Singleton Mosby conducted raids on Falls Church through the summer and fall of 1864. During a raid Oct. 17, 1864, Mosby’s men shot and killed Frank Brooks and kidnapped and later killed abolitionist John Read.