Attended by George Washington and George Mason, Pohick Episcopal Church was completed in 1774 from plans drawn by Washington himself. The church was heavily damaged during the Civil War and has since undergone a series of renovations. Today, soldier graffiti remains visible on its sandstone walls. In addition, Professor Thaddeus Lowe, Chief Aeronaut, Union Army Balloon Corps, selected the Pohick Church grounds to launch his first Observation Balloon to observe Confederate forces. On March 7, 1862 he observed the Confederate forces withdrawing from Northern Virginia. The Confederates retired to the south to a more defensible position along the Rappahannock river near Fredericksburg, VA. Professor Lowe and his band of Aeronauts observed Confederate unit locations, directed artillery fire and collected intelligence until the end of the war. The Union Generals, seeing no further need for the Balloon Corps, disbanded the Corps at Pohick Church upon cessation of hostilities.
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Last Updated: 12/03/2013