Munson's Hill

The lower portion of Washington, D.C., and its Monumental Core thus are located in a naturally occurring "bowl" circled by hills and bluffs on every side.

During the Civil War Confederate Army officers and Southern journalists visited frequently and never failed to remark upon the view, which included much of Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

One war correspondent of the Charleston Mercury newspaper visited in September 1861 and offered the following description: Standing on the crest of the hill, the panorama unrolled before you, is one of exquisite beauty.

Beyond the unseen boundary of our contending countries an infinite plain stretches south to the horizon, relieved here and there by a solitary farmstead nestled down in the deep foliage.

To the left of these fortifications, the dome of the Capitol lifts its ponderous head from the white shoulders of the city, which slope away on either side...[4]The hill was famous during the American Civil War, when it made international news headlines repeatedly.

Confederate Army troops quickly occupied Munson's, Upton's and Mason's hills, from which they had commanding views of the plain of Bailey's Crossroads and all the way into the federal capital.

[5] A stalemate then ensued, as Washington and its residents grew increasingly concerned that the Confederacy would launch an attack from Falls Church and its hills via the river bridges.

The area became a deathtrap during this time as Confederate sharpshooters, with their commanding view of Bailey's Crossroads, shot and killed as many Union army soldiers as they could.

The Confederate Army silently withdrew from Falls Church and Munson's, Mason's and Upton's hills, and retreated to Centreville, which they fortified.

After the Southern army withdrew from the area he suffered numerous deprivations while under the military rule of the Union Army—-and, ironically, the worst were meted out by the poorly disciplined soldiers of the 37th New York Infantry, from Munson's home state.

[10] The legacy of the Munson trees—which formed a beautiful leafy bower—continues to be something Falls Church seeks to emulate today, through successful street-tree planting programs.