Established in 1795, St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery is the oldest Catholic burial ground in Virginia. Located on South Royal Street, just outside the city’s early urban burial limits, it remained unaffected by Alexandria’s 1804 and 1809 cemetery restrictions—allowing uninterrupted interments for over two centuries. More than 5,100 individuals are buried here, including five known Revolutionary War veterans.
Among the earliest burials is Cavan Boa, George Washington’s tailor and a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Others include Corporal Lawrence Hurdle, injured at the Battle of Camden, and Pierre LaCroix, a French and Indian War drummer who later served at Quebec. Master stone carver Charles Lloyd Neale, whose work appears across Alexandria’s cemeteries, is also interred here beside his family beneath a monument he designed.
A 2015 bronze plaque commemorates Colonel John Fitzgerald, Washington’s former aide-de-camp and a prominent early Catholic in Alexandria. While his exact burial location remains uncertain, the plaque honors his ties to the church community that founded this cemetery.
Also buried here is “Grunting” Jim Shaw, a pitcher for the Washington Senators (1913–1921), remembered for his distinctive delivery and lasting mark on early major league baseball.