Page "Falls Church, Virginia" Paragraph 10

By the start of the American Civil War, Falls Church had seen an influx of Northerners seeking land and better weather.

Thus the township's vote for Virginian secession was about 75 % for, 25 % against.

The town changed hands several times during the early years of the war.

Confederate General James Longstreet was headquartered at Home Hill ( now the Lawton House on Lawton Street ) following the First Battle of Manassas.

The earliest known instance of U. S. wartime aerial reconnaissance was carried out from Taylor's Tavern at Seven Corners by aeronaut Thaddeus S. C. Lowe of the Union Army Balloon Corps.

When Confederates took Falls Church, the town became one of the earliest targets of aerially-directed bombardment, with Lowe operating air reconnaissance from Arlington Heights and directing Union guns near the Chain Bridge by telegraph.

These events have now been documented extensively, particularly the military encampments on Minor's Hill and Upton's Hill.