Falls Church, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
Hangman's Tree
November 6, 2010
1. Hangman's Tree Marker
Hangman's Tree
According to legend, an old oak
used by Col. Mosby to hang Union
spies after the Battle of
The Peach Orchard during the
Civil War.
The tree was removed 1968.
Marker by the Falls Chruch
Historical Commission
1968
Erected 1968 by Falls Church Historical Commission.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical year for this entry is 1968.
Location. Marker has been permanently removed. It was located near 38° 53.113′ N, 77° 10.527′ W. Marker was in Falls Church, Virginia. It was at the intersection of West Broad Street (Virginia Route 7) and North Virginia Avenue, on the right when traveling north on West Broad Street. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Falls Church VA 22046, United States of America.
We have been informed that this marker is no longer there and will not be replaced. This page is an archival view of what was.
Regionally, this marker was in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Northern Virginia. It was also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Virginia Training School (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Cherry Hill (about 500 feet away); Falls Church Home Front
this page online
Another marker is no longer nearby. The Story of Big Chimneys (was approx. 0.2 miles away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Also see . . .
1. The Battle of the Peach Orchard. Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society (Submitted on November 6, 2010.)
2. The Legend of the Falls Church Hangmans Tree. 2018 article by Matt Blitz in Arlington Magazine. Excerpt:
... Except it isnt true. I know the people who put together the plaque [in 1968]. None of them believed it, says local historian and author Bradley Gernand, who also serves as chairman of the board of trustees for Mary Riley Styles Public Library. The records just dont support it. ...(Submitted on November 6, 2010.)
3. Hangmans Tree Plaque Must Go. Local commentary printed in 2020 in the
November 6, 2010
2. Hangman's Tree Marker
The Hangmans Tree plaque constitutes a monument to the Confederacy and shows that even a legend deserves remembrance in Falls Church. It serves as an ongoing taunt, akin to displaying a noose, to African-Americans and anyone dedicated to defending their inalienable human rights (like the Union soldiers who were strung up there). That plaque, a veritable noose, needs to be removed.(Submitted on June 10, 2024.)
Additional commentary.
1. The Battle of the Peach Orchard
According to local tradition, there was a Civil War skirmish in a nearby Cherry Hill Farm peach orchard.
— Submitted November 6, 2010.
2. Chronology Problem with the Marker
The "Battle of the Peach Orchard" was a running 2-3 month skirmish between Union and Confederate pickets in the peach orchards on Munson's Hill between the time of the Union retreat from Manassas in July 1861, and the Confederate withdrawal from Northern Virginia to Centreville in September 1861.
Mosby organized his rangers in 1863, after the CSA Partisan Ranger Act of 1862, i.e., Mosby couldn't have been hanging "spies" from trees
November 6, 2010
3. Hangman's Tree Marker
There was definitely a big tree there, however. A picture from the 1940s is available here, and it was clearly a very, very big tree (see " The Legend of the Falls Church Hangmans Tree" link above)
— Submitted July 23, 2014, by Brian Cubbage of Alexandria, Virginia.
3. The plaque has been removed
The rock is still there but that's it. You can clearly see where the plaque was but it's no longer there
— Submitted May 27, 2024, by Guy White of Annandale, Virginia.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 10, 2024. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2010. This page has been viewed 3,007 times since then and 62 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 6, 2010. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
