The Falls Church

The Falls Church. Vandalism and Renewal. The Civil War dramatically affected this 1769 Anglican/Episcopal church that stands before you. The congregation disbanded as the war broke out, with some families fleeing the village. Confederate forces occupied the church in August and September 1861, followed by the Union army for the rest of the war., Federal troops used the church as a hospital in 1862. The adjoining churchyard includes about twenty unmarked Union graves. Soldiers later used the church as a stable, removing the wooden flooring and bricks under some windows to allow horses access. Further damage occurred as soldiers collected souvenirs including the communion silver. By 1865, the church had been stripped of furnishings, and graffiti covered the walls. One Union soldier removed the baptismal font and asked the local postmistress to help him ship it home; instead, she hid it until the war ended. In 1866, the U.S. Army inexpertly repaired the church. The congregation formally reorganized in 1873 and elected a vestry that included former Federal soldiers who had moved to Falls Church. They helped in the rebuilding., “Last Sunday I was down at Falls Church it is about two miles from where we had encamped. The Church is a brick building and about one hundred and thirty years old already. … General Washington … used to worship in it. Now the soldiers use it to lay in at night while on Pickett. … These splinters of wood I cut off the window shutters and sills. Keep them till I come home, then I can tell you all about the country, etc.” , Pvt. Noah A. Walmer, 127th Pennsylvania Infantry, letter to his family, Oct. 24, 1862