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 1851, required at least 20 men to operate and could project water up to 160 feet. It can still be seen today at the Friendship Firehouse Museum, located at 107 S. Alfred Street in Old Town Alexandria.
Glasscock’s grave in the Methodist Protestant Cemetery remained unmarked for more than 170 years—until 2024, when archaeologist Mark Ludlow used Ground Penetrating Radar to confirm the burial in Plot E60, guided by Gravestone Stories founder David Heiby, who had identified the location of the Friendship Fire Company plot.
Each October, during Alexandria’s Firefighters Memorial Service at Ivy Hill Cemetery, Glasscock’s name is read first—a lasting tribute to the city’s earliest known firefighting sacrifice.
Read more about the discovery here: Winter Archaeology: New Discoveries and Collaborations Illuminate Historical Narratives
