🔔 Alexandria Cemetery Tour Updates

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Featured stories from Alexandria’s historic cemeteries
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Explore More on This Site

Join a Cemetery Tour

Step into history with our expert-led walking tours of Alexandria’s most storied cemeteries.

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Featured in the News

Our June 2024 tour was featured on the front page of the Alexandria Times in honor of the Alexandria Archaeology Commission’s 50th anniversary.

Read the Article

Featured Blog Story

The final resting place of Wilmer McLean is in St. Paul’s Cemetery, part of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex in Alexandria, Virginia.

From Bull Run to Appomattox: The Civil War Journey of Wilmer McLean

“The war began in my front yard and ended in my parlor.”

Wilmer McLean’s now-famous quote captures his remarkable role in the American Civil War. The first major battle erupted on his farm near Bull Run, and four years later, his parlor in Appomattox hosted the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant—marking the war’s end on April 9, 1865. McLean’s final chapter unfolded in Alexandria, where he is buried in St. Paul’s Cemetery within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex.

Read the Full Story →

Featured Gravestone

Alva Lee Harvey

The Aviator Who Helped Launch the First Flight Around the World

Alva Lee Harvey: The Aviator Who Helped Launch the First Flight Around the World
On April 6, 1924, Staff Sergeant Alva Harvey departed Seattle to circumnavigate the globe by air. Though his plane crashed in Alaska, Harvey’s legacy in aviation soared through WWII and beyond.
Buried in The Presbyterian Cemetery, Alexandria, VA.

Gravestone of Alva and Lillian Harvey in Alexandria’s Presbyterian Cemetery, part of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, honoring a pioneering aviator and his wife — Gravestone of Alva and Lillian Harvey, Presbyterian Cemetery, Alexandria, VA. Photo by D. Heiby

Read Alva’s Full Story →
Browse the Featured Gravestone Archive →

Notable Burials Highlight

Explore Alexandria’s Notable Burials
Curious who’s buried in Alexandria? Here are just a few:

Major Samuel Cooper – Boston Tea Party participant and Revolutionary War officer
Wilmer McLean – His homes witnessed both the first and last battles of the Civil War
Fields Cook – African American leader in education and civil rights
Julius Campbell – Star player of the 1971 T.C. Williams Titans, portrayed in Remember the Titans, and a powerful symbol of Alexandria’s struggle and progress in civil rights
Joseph Bruin – Slave trader involved in the 1848 Pearl escape attempt

Browse All Notable Burials →

Recent Discoveries & Rediscovered Graves

Col. George Gilpin Rediscovered (2024)
Revolutionary War officer and Washington’s pallbearer found after more than 200 years.
Read the Full Story →
Winter Archaeology at Wilkes Street
Ground-penetrating radar revealed long-lost burials—including firefighter Charles Glasscock and the Adam, Irwin, Dundas, and Black family plots.
Explore the Discoveries →

Discover Alexandria’s Civil War Legacy

Civil War Tour of Alexandria National Cemetery - View of Wilkes Street Complex circa 1865 — Entrance to the Alexandria National Cemetery on Wilkes Street, approximately 1865. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.

Alexandria was the first Southern city seized by Union forces—just one day after Virginians voted to secede. Its cemeteries, hospitals, and historic homes became central to the Civil War’s human story.

Explore the lives of soldiers, civilians, contrabands, and spies who shaped Alexandria’s wartime legacy.

Explore at Your Own Pace

Want to explore on your own schedule?
Download our printable brochure and enjoy a self-guided walk through Alexandria’s most historic cemeteries—featuring 35,000+ stories in one extraordinary complex.

Get the Brochure →

Upcoming Presentation

Tuesday, April 15 – 1:00 to 3:00 PM
Hollin Hall Senior Center, Room 218
Join David Heiby for a talk with the Mount Vernon Genealogical Society:
The Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex – an introduction to America’s most historic cluster of burial grounds and the 35,000+ stories they hold.
All are welcome!

Recent Highlights & Photos

Recent Highlight: Honoring Civil War Sacrifice

On April 5, Gravestone Stories joined the Lee-Fendall House to mark the 160th anniversary of the Grosvenor Branch Hospital closure. David Heiby, Gravestone’s founder and VP of the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation, read aloud the names of 10 Union soldiers who died while under care at the Civil War-era hospital.

View the full story to learn more about this solemn commemoration, groundbreaking medical history, and the soldiers laid to rest in Alexandria.

Discover photos from our tours, talks, and commemorations honoring Alexandria’s history and those who shaped it. View More Highlights

Community Partners

Alexandria’s rich history is preserved and interpreted by dedicated organizations that engage the community through research, education, and historic site preservation.
The Alexandria Historical Society works to document and promote the city’s past.
The Lee-Fendall House Museum, owned and operated by the Virginia Trust for Historic Preservation, offers insight into Alexandria’s evolving history through one of its most significant historic homes.

Alexandria Cemetery Tour Updates – Be the First to Know