 By 1860, conditions at Pohick Church had deteriorated to such a state that it is unclear whether or not the building remained a consecrated house of worship at the dawn of the American Civil War.With its proximity to Washington, D.C., the building was quickly embroiled in the fighting that rocked Northern Virginia.although in that year a plan was formed by a clergyman from Fairfax, Reverend R. T. Brown, to return the building to active service, a plan which was quashed by the beginning of the conflict.