Welcome to the Alexandria History Timeline—This living timeline offers a continuous journey through the city’s past, shaped by both local milestones and global events. From the political and religious upheavals that shaped colonial Virginia to Alexandria’s role in revolution, war, and civil rights, the entries here reflect the people, places, and turning points that have defined our community across nearly three centuries.
What makes this timeline unique? Each story is grounded in original research and tied to individuals buried in Alexandria’s historic cemeteries—linking public memory to private lives. Many entries lead to in-depth articles, burial profiles, or firsthand discoveries shared through Gravestone Stories, where we believe every grave holds a voice worth hearing.
How to use the timeline: Scroll decade by decade, or jump to a particular era. Click any entry to explore its full context. New stories are added regularly.
Created and curated by a local public historian and cemetery steward, this timeline is part of an ongoing effort to preserve Alexandria’s past and share it with future generations.
Three ships carrying more than 100 settlers arrived at a swampy peninsula along the James River and established Jamestown—the first permanent English settlement in North America. The Virginia Company sought wealth through exploration and trade, but early struggles with famine, disease, and Native resistance nearly doomed the colony. This marked…
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A privateer ship, the White Lion, brought approximately 20 enslaved Africans to Point Comfort (modern-day Hampton, Virginia), marking the beginning of African slavery in English North America. These individuals were likely seized from a Portuguese slave ship and traded for provisions. Though initially treated similarly to indentured servants, their arrival…
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To meet growing labor demands, Virginia landowners relied heavily on indentured servants—European migrants who exchanged years of labor for passage to the colony. These men and women worked in harsh conditions, often alongside enslaved Africans. While some gained freedom, others died from overwork, disease, or poverty. By the late 1600s,…
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On January 6, 1631, King Charles I issued a royal proclamation granting the English Crown a monopoly over the importation and sale of tobacco from the American colonies, especially Virginia. This decisive act came at a critical moment: the Virginia colony was struggling economically, and its future was uncertain. By…
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The Glorious Revolution brings an end to the reign of the Catholic monarch James II and secures the English throne for his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. Their joint rule begins a new era of constitutional monarchy, in which royal authority is limited by Parliament. This…
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Following the Glorious Revolution, England’s 1689 Toleration Act granted limited religious freedoms to certain Protestant groups outside the Church of England—often referred to as “qualified dissenters.” These included Presbyterians, Baptists, and Quakers. While the law marked a step toward greater religious pluralism, its impact in Virginia was more constrained. Although…
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Around 1716, ambitious Scottish merchants established a small settlement called Cameron near the head of Great Hunting Creek, close to today’s Telegraph Road bridge. Located at a crossroads of inland routes and tidal waters, Cameron became a thriving trading post where tobacco was packed and rolled to nearby inspection points.…
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To regulate and improve the quality of its most lucrative cash crop, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730. It required all tobacco to be inspected at designated warehouses before export. One such inspection site would later be established along Hunting Creek—laying the economic foundation for…
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Cameron Parish forms from Truro Parish, covering the area that will become Alexandria.
On July 13, 1749, the town of Alexandria was officially established by an Act of the Virginia General Assembly. Its location along the Potomac River, near a tobacco inspection warehouse at Hunting Creek, made it ideal for a deep-water port. The town’s creation was backed by Scottish merchants and Virginia…
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For three weeks in April 1755, General Edward Braddock used John Carlyle’s newly built Georgian stone mansion as his headquarters. From April 14–16, Braddock convened a council of five colonial governors to strategize the campaign against the French at Fort Duquesne. The decision made during this council—to tax the colonists…
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Dr. Robert Creighton, later buried in Alexandria, served as a military physician during General Braddock’s catastrophic expedition to seize Fort Duquesne. Born in Ayrshire, Scotland, Creighton crossed the Atlantic and found himself in the thick of one of the most consequential failures in British colonial warfare. As a surgeon in…
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In colonial Virginia, where the Church of England remained the established faith, Presbyterian worship was permitted but heavily restricted. By the early 18th century, Alexandria’s Presbyterian community began gathering informally in spaces like the Assembly Hall—quietly organizing services without a formal building or charter. Though legally tolerated, they faced ongoing…
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Sarah “Sally” Fairfax Carlyle, born around 1730, was a member of one of Virginia’s most prominent families. A cousin of Thomas Fairfax, 6th Lord Fairfax of Cameron—namesake of Fairfax County—she belonged to a lineage that shaped the colony’s social and political landscape. In 1747, she married John Carlyle, a Scottish-born…
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Alexandria grows to a population of more than 1,200 by 1762.
In 1772, the Presbyterian congregation in Alexandria formally organized with the installation of Reverend William Thom as its first minister. This marked a significant shift from decades of informal worship at Assembly Hall to an established and enduring religious presence in the community. Coming just before the American Revolution, this…
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As Alexandria’s population surpassed 1,200 by the 1760s, the need for formal religious and burial spaces grew. Following the creation of Fairfax Parish in 1764, which included Alexandria, the construction of a new Episcopal church was undertaken. In 1773, John Carlyle helped oversee the completion of what became known as…
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In a bid to rescue the floundering British East India Company, Parliament passed the Tea Act on May 10, 1773. Rather than taxing tea directly, the act allowed the Company to sell tea in the American colonies without colonial merchants, undercutting competition—even as it retained the hated Townshend duty. Though…
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On June 13, 1773, George Washington recorded attending a service at Alexandria’s newly completed Anglican church, informally known as the “Church in the Woods.” Located just west of town, this church would later become Christ Church, a prominent landmark in Alexandria’s religious and civic life. Washington’s attendance reflects his ties…
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At just 16 years old, Samuel Cooper joined the Boston Tea Party, boarding British ships with fellow Sons of Liberty and casting crates of tea into Boston Harbor in protest of unjust taxation. He would later provide one of the few firsthand accounts of that pivotal night. Cooper went on…
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In retaliation for Boston’s defiant Tea Party protest the year before, Parliament passed the Boston Port Act in March 1774, declaring the harbor would be closed on June 1 unless the East India Company was compensated for its lost tea. The law was enforced by the Royal Navy and Army,…
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At the urging of George Washington and drafted primarily by George Mason, the Fairfax Resolves were adopted on July 18, 1774—asserting the rights of the American colonies and rejecting Parliament’s authority over local governance. Among the Alexandria signers was Robert Adam, a Scottish-born merchant and civic leader who had long…
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As tensions with Britain escalated, delegates from twelve colonies—including George Washington of Alexandria—met in Philadelphia to craft a unified colonial response. Washington, better known then as a planter and former soldier, traveled north with fellow Virginians Patrick Henry and Peyton Randolph. Though he said little during the sessions, Washington’s presence…
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In 1775, Alexandria’s Presbyterian congregation completed its new sanctuary and burial ground on South Fairfax Street, establishing what would become one of the city’s most significant historic churches. The pulpit was originally positioned along the north wall, and worshippers were seated in simple benches—one surviving black bench remains in use…
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The first shots of the American Revolutionary War are fired at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. Alexandria, Virginia, soon becomes deeply tied to the revolutionary cause through figures like Richard Henry Lee and his descendants.
When news of the battles at Lexington and Concord reached Virginia, Alexandrians—like many colonists—understood that war was no longer a distant possibility. On May 10, 1775, colonial delegates, including Alexandria’s George Washington, reconvened in Philadelphia to organize military resistance. With British troops occupying Boston, the need for a Continental Army…
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On June 15, 1775, George Washington of Alexandria was unanimously appointed Commander in Chief of the Continental Army by the Second Continental Congress. Already admired for his integrity and military experience, Washington’s selection symbolized unity between the colonies—and trust in Virginia’s leadership. Though reluctant to accept, Washington did so with…
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Before there was a Declaration, there was the Lee Resolution. On June 7, 1776, Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee rose in the Continental Congress and proposed a bold idea: that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” His resolution—backed by Virginia’s earlier May…
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Drafted by George Mason and influenced by James Madison, the Virginia Declaration of Rights marked a significant shift towards religious freedom. This document laid the groundwork for the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom in 1786, which established the separation of church and state, a principle later enshrined in the U.S.…
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The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, following Richard Henry Lee’s pivotal Lee Resolution that set the stage for American independence. Today, Alexandria honors its close connection to the nation’s founding through descendants like Sarah Caldwell “Sally” Lee Lee and Francis Lightfoot Lee II, both buried at Christ Church…
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On September 16, 1776, Colonel John Fitzgerald distinguished himself at the Battle of Harlem Heights, a key early victory for General George Washington and the Continental Army. Serving as Washington’s aide-de-camp, Fitzgerald was at his side through the grueling campaigns of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, and Monmouth—where he was wounded. After…
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On January 18, 1778, Captain James Cook became the first European to chart the Hawaiian Islands during his third and final voyage of exploration. Among his crew was a teenage sailor named Thomas Tretcher, who survived fierce storms, punishment in the Tonga Islands, and a harrowing episode on Christmas Island…
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Dr. James Craik (1730–1814), a Scottish-born physician and lifelong friend of George Washington, served as a military surgeon during the Revolutionary War and was present at the surrender at Yorktown. He would later become Physician General of the U.S. Army and was at Washington’s bedside at his death. Craik is…
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Authored by Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was enacted, ensuring that no individual could be compelled to attend or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever. This statute was a milestone in the advancement of religious liberty in America.
On April 16, 1789, as George Washington prepared to depart Alexandria for his presidential inauguration in New York City, a farewell reception was held at Wise’s Tavern. During the ceremony, Alexandria’s mayor, Dennis Ramsay, formally addressed Washington as “Mr. President”—the first recorded instance of this title being used. Ramsay, who…
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From Alexandria to the Blue Ridge: Building the South’s First Successful Toll Road On July 9, 1795, the Virginia General Assembly chartered the Little River Turnpike Company to construct a toll road from Alexandria westward to Aldie, Virginia. Over the next decade, this ambitious project gave rise to the first…
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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…
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In response to growing health concerns and the need for a non-denominational municipal burial ground, Alexandria’s Common Council appointed a committee in August 1795, composed of Colonel Francis Peyton, George Deneale, and James Keith, to select a suitable site. The committee was instructed to purchase land “not less than two…
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By the end of the 18th century, the once-bustling inland trading post of Cameron had faded into obscurity. Trade had shifted to Alexandria following its founding in 1749, and the silting of Great Hunting Creek further diminished Cameron’s role as a commercial hub. By 1799, the village no longer appeared…
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Following George Washington’s death on December 14, 1799, Alexandria held major public funeral services at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. The city’s Episcopal rector and Reverend Dr. James Muir, the Meeting House’s third minister and Chaplain of Washington’s Masonic Lodge, jointly led the local commemorations. Services were held at the…
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In February 1801, Alexandria and surrounding Alexandria County were officially incorporated into the new District of Columbia under the Organic Act. Although local governance by the Common Council continues, Alexandria loses direct representation in Congress, sparking decades of political resentment. Local public health and cemetery regulations remain under municipal control,…
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In 1803, a devastating Yellow Fever epidemic swept through Alexandria, sickening over 1,000 residents and resulting in approximately 197 deaths. At the height of the outbreak, horse and donkey carts moved through the town daily to collect the dead from the previous 24 hours. The overwhelming number of deaths taxed…
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In direct response to the devastating Yellow Fever epidemic of 1803, Alexandria’s Common Council enacted an ordinance on March 27, 1804, prohibiting the sale of new burial plots within the town limits. Public fear that overcrowded graveyards were contaminating wells and spreading disease led to this major shift in burial…
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In 1784, Alexandria’s Quaker community established a burial ground on Queen Street, replacing an earlier site on South St. Asaph Street. By the early 1800s, the Queen Street ground was nearing capacity. In July 1803, Alexandria’s Friends began actively seeking a new burial ground within the city, but by the…
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Churches search for new burial sites beyond Alexandria’s town limits, leading to the creation of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex
Lewis Nicola, a Revolutionary War officer and author of the controversial Newburgh Letter to George Washington, dies in Alexandria. A former British Army major and founder of the American Invalid Corps, Nicola helped pioneer using partially disabled soldiers in military service. Though his grave is now lost, he was buried…
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In response to public health concerns and new burial restrictions within Alexandria’s town limits, local congregations begin establishing new cemeteries outside the residential grid at Spring Garden Farm. In 1808, Christ Church Cemetery and Trinity Methodist Cemetery are formally established. The following year, in 1809, the Presbyterian Cemetery and St.…
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Alexandria enforces a complete ban on new burials within the town limits without specific council approval.
On August 24, 1814, British forces captured and burned much of Washington, D.C., including the Capitol and White House, in retaliation for the Americans’ burning of York in Canada in April 1813. This shocking defeat leaves Alexandria dangerously exposed to British naval forces approaching up the Potomac River.
In the aftermath of the British burning of Washington in August 1814, Commodore James Gordon’s Potomac Squadron advanced up the river and demanded the surrender of Alexandria. On August 28, town leaders—including Mayor Charles Simms and Edmund Jennings Lee Sr.—negotiated terms to prevent the city from being shelled. To avoid…
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From September 1–5, 1814, American forces clashed with British naval vessels along the Potomac River at White House Landing, near Belvoir Neck. Among those who fought was Robert Allison Jr., a native of Alexandria and grandson of the city’s first mayor. During the five-day engagement, Allison was killed in action—one…
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On September 2, 1814, during the War of 1812, General John Mason of Alexandria, then serving as the Commissioner General of Prisoners, formally appointed Francis Scott Key and John S. Skinner to a special mission to secure the release of Dr. William Beanes, a prominent Maryland physician captured by the…
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A veiled young woman, known only as the “Female Stranger,” died under mysterious circumstances and was buried in Alexandria. Her monument bears a haunting epitaph: “A heap of dust alone remains of thee—’tis all thou art and all the proud shall be.” Her identity remains unknown, making her grave one…
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In August 1828, the slave-trading firm of Franklin and Armfield rented the large brick house at 1315 Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Originally built by General Robert Young—militia commander, merchant, and civic leader buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery—the property would become the headquarters of one of the most notorious domestic…
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In March 1833, amid Alexandria’s growing religious diversity, the Methodist Protestant Church established its own burial ground within what would later become known as the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. Burial and lot sale records date back to this time, making it one of the earlier formal cemeteries in the complex.…
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On July 26, 1835, a lightning strike ignited a devastating fire at the Presbyterian Meeting House, then known as the First Presbyterian Church, in Alexandria. The blaze gutted the sanctuary and caused such extensive damage that a complete reconstruction was required—the original structure could not be salvaged. Despite the loss,…
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Following the devastating fire of 1835, the Presbyterian Meeting House—now known as the Old Presbyterian Meeting House—was rebuilt and reopened two years later. Though much of the interior was lost, the church retained its original 18th-century brick walls, preserving a visible connection to Alexandria’s colonial past. In 1843, the Meeting…
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Lt. John Fowle (1789–1838), former Superintendent of West Point (1833–1837), was among the 150 lives lost when the steamship Moselle exploded on the Ohio River shortly after departing Cincinnati. The catastrophic blast—felt and heard across the region—was one of the deadliest transportation disasters of its time. A harrowing account in…
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The 19th century was the height of “canal mania,” and Alexandria was no exception. Following the lead of the Erie Canal and the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Alexandrians pushed to connect their port to interior trade routes. On December 15, 1843, the seven-mile-long Alexandria Canal officially opened. It extended the…
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On this day in 1846, the U.S. Congress declared war on Mexico, setting off a conflict that would shape the nation’s future and forge a new generation of American military leaders. Among them was Thomas Wells Childs, an Alexandrian who would go on to earn national recognition for his battlefield…
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After decades as part of the District of Columbia, Alexandria and Alexandria County (which included modern-day Arlington) were retroceded back to Virginia on July 9, 1846. Concerns over economic neglect, limited political representation, and the growing abolitionist movement in the federal district led local leaders to push for the change.…
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When General David Twiggs was ordered to build a new fort on Florida’s Caloosahatchee River, he named it Fort Myers—not for a battlefield victory, but as a Valentine’s Day gift honoring his future son-in-law, Col. Abraham C. Myers, and to delight his 13-year-old daughter, Marion, who had fallen in love…
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On this day, the inaugural Orange & Alexandria Railroad engine passed through Alexandria’s newly constructed Wilkes Street tunnel, running beneath the city between Royal Street and the Potomac River waterfront. Chartered in 1848, the O&A Railroad soon became a key transportation route, linking Alexandria to Gordonsville and forming critical rail…
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Charles Glasscock, a member of the Friendship Fire Company, became Alexandria’s first recorded firefighter to die in the line of duty after being run over by the Rodgers Suction Engine on June 28, 1852. He succumbed to his injuries two days later. The Rodgers Suction Engine, acquired from Baltimore in…
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On July 8, 1853, the U.S. Navy’s East India Squadron sailed into Tokyo Bay, marking a pivotal moment in global history. The mission, led by Commodore Matthew Perry, sought to open Japan to Western trade after more than two centuries of isolation. At the helm of Perry’s flagship—the USS Mississippi—stood…
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On November 17, 1855, a catastrophic fire broke out at the Dowell China Shop on King Street, claiming the lives of seven Alexandria volunteer firefighters: Robert Taylor, James W. Keene, William Evans, George O. Plain, G. David Appich, J. Carson Green, and John A. Roach. Their deaths marked one of…
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On June 18, 1856, Ivy Hill Cemetery held its official opening ceremonies, marking Alexandria’s first garden-style cemetery. Conceived during the national rural cemetery movement, Ivy Hill was designed as a landscaped burial ground outside the congested city center—reflecting a shift toward more picturesque and park-like memorial spaces. While the deed…
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In the wake of John Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Alexandria’s Colonel Charles Edward Stuart was called to lead the 175th Virginia Militia, deployed to Charlestown, Virginia (now West Virginia), to guard Brown during his trial and execution. The famed abolitionist’s attempt to incite a slave uprising shocked the…
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Union Cemetery is founded by Alexandria’s pro-Southern Methodist Episcopal congregation following theological divisions over slavery. It becomes part of the broader Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex.
In 1860, Alexandria’s Jewish community establishes the Home of Peace Cemetery, the first Jewish burial ground in Virginia. Located within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, it signals the city’s growing cultural and religious diversity.
On May 24, 1861—the day after Virginia voted to secede from the Union—Federal troops crossed the Potomac and occupied Alexandria. The city would remain under Union control for the duration of the Civil War, with its homes, churches, and cemeteries transformed into military hospitals, supply depots, and encampments. One of…
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On June 1, 1862, the City of Alexandria purchased two acres from John H. and Margaret Baggett for $800 to establish a burial ground for Union soldiers. Known initially as the Soldier’s Cemetery, it was among the first sites designated after Congress authorized national cemeteries later that summer. The cemetery…
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By the final days of 1862, the toll of war was becoming unmistakably visible in Alexandria’s burial grounds. A brief but telling local notice in the Alexandria Gazette reported that 197 Union soldiers had been buried at Penny Hill Cemetery since January 8, with another 724 interred in the city’s…
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On this day, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment—the first Black regiment raised in the North—was officially mustered into federal service. Backed by abolitionists like Frederick Douglass and led by Col. Robert Gould Shaw, the 54th would become a symbol of courage and sacrifice. Among those who answered the call was…
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On June 9, 1863, a thunderous explosion tore through Fort Lyon, just outside Alexandria. Eight tons of gunpowder accidentally ignited, killing 21 soldiers from the 3rd New York Heavy Artillery instantly. Two more died of their wounds in the days that followed. The blast shattered windows throughout the city and…
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In 1864, Alexandria established the Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery as a burial ground for formerly enslaved individuals and African American refugees who died seeking freedom behind Union lines. Located at the city’s southern edge, it became the final resting place for over 1,700 men, women, and children, most buried without…
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On May 15, 1864, Union Gen. Franz Sigel’s campaign through Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley ran into unexpected resistance at New Market. Facing him was a patchwork Confederate force led by Gen. John C. Breckinridge—including 257 teenage cadets from the Virginia Military Institute. Among them: Francis Lee Smith Jr. of Alexandria. Just…
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On December 27, 1864, 443 African American soldiers recovering at Alexandria’s L’Ouverture Hospital signed a powerful petition protesting segregated burial practices. The catalyst was the burial of Private Shadrach Murphy in the Freedmen’s Cemetery instead of the nearby Alexandria National Cemetery. The soldiers wrote, “We are not contrabands, but soldiers…
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On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending major combat in the Civil War. Wilmer McLean, whose homes witnessed both the beginning and end of the war, is later buried in Alexandria’s St. Paul’s Cemetery. ☛ Read More Wilmer…
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Just days after President Lincoln was shot, a lesser-known tragedy unfolded on the Potomac River. In the early morning of April 24, 1865, a military transport steamer, the Massachusetts, accidentally collided with the barge Black Diamond, which had been stationed to help block the escape route of Lincoln’s assassin, John…
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Months after General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, his nephew, Confederate naval officer Sydney Smith Lee, Jr., was still at sea aboard the CSS Shenandoah, targeting Union whaling ships in the Pacific. Unaware the war had ended, the crew only learned the news in August 1865 from a British merchant vessel.…
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After the Civil War, Alexandria’s cemeteries gradually expanded existing grounds to accommodate continued burials. No new cemeteries were formally established for two decades. Congregations added sections to existing burial grounds within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, adapting to the city’s slow postwar recovery.
“Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”— General John A. Logan, Grand Army of the Republic, 1868 On this date, Alexandria joined the nation in observing…
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Montgomery Dent Corse—Alexandria native, banker, and commander of the 17th Virginia Infantry during the Civil War—was seriously injured during the catastrophic collapse of the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond. On April 27, 1870, the floor of a packed courtroom gave way during a contested election hearing, plunging spectators into the…
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Nicholas Trist, once Thomas Jefferson’s ward and later his grandson-in-law, played a pivotal role in shaping the modern United States. As chief negotiator of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, Trist defied presidential orders to abandon negotiations—ultimately securing more than 500,000 square miles of territory for the United States,…
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Holmes Paulding, a U.S. Army surgeon later buried in St. Paul’s Cemetery, plays a pivotal role following the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Paulding helps recover, identify, and rebury the fallen soldiers of Custer’s command after the devastating defeat. ☛ Read More
In 1879, the Daughters of the Confederacy oversaw the disinterment of Confederate prisoners of war from Alexandria’s Soldiers’ Cemetery. Their remains are moved to a mass grave at Christ Church’s burial ground, reflecting postwar efforts to honor Confederate dead separately from Union soldiers.
On this day in 1881, Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross—a humanitarian force that would forever change the way the world responds to crisis. But what many don’t know is that Barton’s tireless mission was supported by a trusted aide from right here in Alexandria, Virginia. Lucy Mariah Graves,…
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On November 13, 1885, Alexandria’s Black Baptist community establishes a burial ground west of Hooff’s Run, near present-day Holland Lane. The cemetery provides a dedicated resting place for African American Alexandrians during an era when segregation extended even into death. Today, its surviving grounds are preserved as part of the…
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On December 15, 1885, the Virginia General Assembly incorporates the Bethel Cemetery Company. Stockholders purchase land within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex to create Alexandria’s first cemetery designed for elaborate monuments and mausoleums, reflecting new 19th-century memorial styles.
Named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass, Douglass Cemetery is founded within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex to serve Alexandria’s African American community. The cemetery reflects the civic growth of Black Alexandrians during an era of increasing segregation.
On February 1, 1900, Minna and Ada Everleigh opened the Everleigh Club in Chicago’s Levee District. Opulent, exclusive, and notorious, it became the most talked-about brothel in America—frequented by millionaires, dignitaries, and politicians. But by 1911, national reformers forced its closure, ending the sisters’ reign over Chicago’s red-light empire. Aida…
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In 1915, Alexandria annexed more than 1,300 acres from Fairfax and Alexandria Counties, incorporating the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex formally within city limits. Previously, the complex had been located just outside the old boundary of the District of Columbia.
Alva Harvey, later buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery, participated in the U.S. Army Air Service’s First World Flight, the first aerial circumnavigation of the globe. His legacy as a pioneering aviator endures within Alexandria’s rich historical fabric. ☛ Read More Douglas World Cruiser floatplane
In 1929, the National Society of the Children of the American Revolution erected the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution within the 18th-century burial ground of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House. The tomb honors an unidentified patriot whose remains were unearthed nearby in 1826 during the construction…
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In 1933, Alexandria’s Agudas Achim Congregation established a new Jewish cemetery west of the original Wilkes Street Cemetery core. This reflects the growth of Alexandria’s Eastern European Jewish community and the expanding religious diversity of the city in the early 20th century.
As Alexandria grows rapidly after World War II, concerns emerge about the condition and future of the historic Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. Families and congregations organize early preservation efforts, laying the groundwork for the protection of these irreplaceable burial grounds.
On September 6, 2014, Alexandria officially dedicated the Contrabands and Freedmen’s Cemetery Memorial.Rediscovered during historical research in the 1990s, the cemetery had long been lost beneath modern development. Archaeological investigations confirmed over 1,700 burials of formerly enslaved individuals and African American refugees who died during the Civil War. Today, the…
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Julius Campbell, Jr. was a star defensive lineman at T.C. Williams High School during Alexandria’s early years of school integration. As a leader of the 1971 undefeated team that won the Virginia AAA state championship, Campbell’s courage helped bridge deep racial divides. His story was immortalized in the 2000 Disney…
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The Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex in Alexandria is the most historic cluster of cemeteries in the United States—home to over 35,000 burials spanning from the colonial era to the present day. These sacred grounds reflect America’s unfolding story through revolution, war, public health crises, civil rights, and local legacy. Learn…
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