Dennis Ramsay

The Fairfax Independent Company: Washington’s Alexandria Volunteers, 1774–1775

The Fairfax Independent Company was organized in Fairfax County in September 1774, seven months before the fighting at Lexington and Concord. Its members, men of Alexandria and the surrounding county, called themselves the Fairfax Independent Company of Volunteers, and they trained in blue coats faced with buff. George Washington was their patron. He reviewed them … Read more

George Washington’s Funerals: Historic Commemorations at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria

A Nation Mourns The passing of a great figure often marks a pivotal moment in history, and George Washington’s departure on December 14, 1799, was no exception. In a surprising turn of events, he succumbed to a brief two-day illness, leaving behind a nation in mourning. His funerals and the historic commemorations held at the … Read more