From the Archives – A War-Torn Mission

Saint Mary’s mission, Saint Mary of Sorrows Church in Fairfax Station, was taken over by Union forces for 18 months during the Civil War. From July 1863 until the conflict ended, the church was used as a hospital for sick and wounded troops. Military surgeons operated there. It also was used as a headquarters for Union troops.

After the war ended, Saint Mary’s pastor, Father Peter Kroes, petitioned the government to reimburse the church for damages. In June 1865, Father Paul E. Gillin, a Holy Cross priest from Notre Dame, Indiana, and chaplain with the 170th Regiment, wrote to the headquarters of the 2nd Army Corps, to support the request by Father Kroes and Bernard Hamill, a parishioner who lived near the mission and was the “principal superintendent of the church.” Father Gillin’s request also described damage to Mr. Hamill’s farm, destroying his fences and timber. Despite this, Father Gillian said, “He [Hamill] and his family have been very obliging to our officers and men, and especially to the sick and wounded in the hospital.”

In October 1865, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton approved the government payment as follows: standing timber cut for fuel, $5; damage to altar and tabernacle, $25; destruction of altar platform, $10; destruction of benches, $44; replace door, $5; whitewash walls and repair floors, $10; replace sash and glazing, $9; repair shutters, $12. Also, $202.50 for 18-month occupation ($11.25 per month). According to tradition, President Ulysses S. Grant, who often traveled by train to a nearby resort in Clifton, personally ordered replacement of the pews.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series. An archive of the features is located here.