hundreds of graves remained. graves of hundreds

construction of Interstate Route 95 to the south, the to 95 Route Interstate of construction

an office building. In spite of these, and the and these, of spite In building. office an

A gas station was erected in 1955, followed by followed 1955, in erected was station gas A

parcel was rezoned for commercial use and sold. and use commercial for rezoned was parcel

its own cemetery across the street. In 1946, the 1946, In street. the across cemetery own its

Catholic Diocese of Richmond, which maintained which Richmond, of Diocese Catholic

Smith family conveyed the property to the to property the conveyed family Smith

grave markers quickly rotted away. In 1917, the 1917, In away. rotted quickly markers grave

it remained largely undisturbed, but the wood the but undisturbed, largely remained it

Francis Smith, reclaimed it. For eight decades, eight For it. reclaimed Smith, Francis Andrew Russell photograph of the Prince Street Contraband Barracks, 1864. Library of Congress. of Library 1864. Barracks, Contraband Street Prince the of photograph Russell Andrew

closed. The parcel’s former owner, attorney owner, former parcel’s The closed.

cemetery, with its more than 1,700 burials, was burials, 1,700 than more its with cemetery,

Bureau functions at the end of 1868, the 1868, of end the at functions Bureau

When Congress curtailed nearly all Freedmen’s all nearly curtailed Congress When

ultimately as soldiers and sailors. and soldiers as ultimately Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands. Abandoned and Freedmen Refugees, National Cemetery in January 1865. January in Cemetery National

Freedmen’s Cemetery to the Alexandria the to Cemetery Freedmen’s gravediggers and personal servants—and personal and gravediggers Cemetery was transferred to the new Bureau of Bureau new the to transferred was Cemetery

deceased black veterans were removed from removed were veterans black deceased wood cutters, drivers, laundresses, cooks, laundresses, drivers, cutters, wood At war’s end, responsibility for Freedmen’s for responsibility end, war’s At

Street, as were their white comrades. About 75 About comrades. white their were as Street, and hospital stewards, longshoremen, painters, longshoremen, stewards, hospital and

interred in the “Soldiers’ Cemetery” on Wilkes on Cemetery” “Soldiers’ the in interred with the army as construction workers, nurses workers, construction as army the with legislature.

Alexandrians in City Council and the Virginia the and Council City in Alexandrians the town’s hospitals finally demanded to be to demanded finally hospitals town’s the freedpeople or “Contrabands” took positions took “Contrabands” or freedpeople

support necessary to put the first black first the put to necessary support at Freedmen’s Cemetery. The black troops in troops black The Cemetery. Freedmen’s at center for transport and hospitals, the hospitals, and transport for center

Amendment, the freedpeople provided the provided freedpeople the Amendment, soldiers who died in Alexandria were also buried also were Alexandria in died who soldiers transformed into a major supply depot and a and depot supply major a into transformed

rural communities. After ratification of the 15th the of ratification After communities. rural for “Contrabands.” At first, African-American first, At “Contrabands.” for freedom, but employment. As Alexandria was Alexandria As employment. but freedom,

shantytowns, and creating long-lastingurban and long-lastingurban creating and shantytowns, beginning of March it opened as a burying ground burying a as opened it March of beginning Washington offered not only comparative only not offered Washington

buildings and army barracks, erecting barracks, army and buildings Confederate owner as abandoned. At the At abandoned. as owner Confederate behind Union lines, the cities of Alexandria and Alexandria of cities the lines, Union behind

people reshaped the landscape, occupying vacant occupying landscape, the reshaped people Washington Street be seized from its pro- its from seized be Street Washington flooded into Union-controlled areas. Safely areas. Union-controlled into flooded

the seceded states, African-American refugees African-American states, seceded the economy and transformed social relations. The relations. social transformed and economy that an undeveloped parcel on South on parcel undeveloped an that

January 1864, the Military Governor ordered Governor Military the 1864, January As Federal troops extended their occupation of occupation their extended troops Federal As residents. This sudden influx stressed the local the stressed influx sudden This residents.

needed a new burying ground for them. In them. for ground burying new a needed 8,700, or about half the total number of number total the half about or 8,700,

in the Alexandria area, the town desperately town the area, Alexandria the in families would be reunited in freedom. in reunited be would families population temporarily grew to more than more to grew temporarily population

After more than 1,000 freedpeople had perished had freedpeople 1,000 than more After and South, the “Jubilee,” the end of slavery, when slavery, of end the “Jubilee,” the South, and Mississippi. Alexandria County’s black County’s Alexandria Mississippi.

Carolina, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana and Louisiana Texas, Alabama, Carolina, Disease and high infant mortality were endemic. were mortality infant high and Disease outcome of an armed conflict between North between conflict armed an of outcome

1868 there were arrivals from Kentucky, North Kentucky, from arrivals were there 1868 inadequate health care, death was no stranger. no was death care, health inadequate themselves. Many predicted, as the inevitable the as predicted, Many themselves.

from most of Virginia and eastern Maryland. By Maryland. eastern and Virginia of most from undernourished, ill-housed population with population ill-housed undernourished, conflict would lead than did the combatants the did than lead would conflict

Virginians, but African Americans migrated here migrated Americans African but Virginians, destitute by any standard. Among an Among standard. any by destitute Americans had a better sense of where the where of sense better a had Americans

Alexandria’s freedpeople were mostly northern mostly were freedpeople Alexandria’s Just out of slavery, most freedpeople were freedpeople most slavery, of out Just When the Civil War broke out, enslaved African enslaved out, broke War Civil the When

The Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery was This brochure was made founded by Lillie Finklea and Louise Massoud in possible by a generous grant 1997 for the purpose of preserving, from the Virginia Foundation Freedmen’s commemorating and researching a Civil War- for the Humanities and Pub- era African-American cemetery in Old Town lic Policy. The Friends of Alexandria. Initial efforts concentrated on Freedmen’s Cemetery are also deeply grateful memorial ceremonies to honor and raise public for the invaluable assistance of Lewis and Rosalie Cemetery awareness of Alexandria’s freedpeople. With Liegh, T. Michael Miller, Wesley E. Pippenger the nearby construction of a new Interstate 95/ and Dr. Jean Fagan Yellin. 495 bridge over the Potomac River, the Friends collaborated with the City of Alexandria and project consultants on the design of an appropriate memorial on a portion of the site. It is the dream and mission of the Friends to see the entire cemetery parcel ultimately returned to public ownership and restored as a memorial park.

The Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization run by a volunteer board of directors. All contributions are fully tax-deductible.

This 1865 Andrew Russell photograph of Alexan- dria National Cemetery suggests how Freedmen’s Cemetery appeared—rows of whitewashed wood markers enclosed by a picket fence. 1001 South Washington Street

www.freedmenscemetery.org Alexandria email: [email protected] “Friends” and Alexandria City Council mail: 638 N. Alfred Street Virginia members at a Memorial Day commemoration. Alexandria, VA 22314 Laundry day at Volusia, a farm near Duke Street and Holmes Run, 1860s. About forty percent of the At the urging of Rev. Albert Gladwin, the civilian burials at Freedmen’s Cemetery were of children five years old and younger—those most vulnerable “Superintendent of Contrabands,” Alexandria’s to disease and malnutrition. Photograph courtesy of Lewis and Rosalie Leigh. Military Governor, Brigadier General John P. Slough, pictured above, seized a parcel on South Washington Street and established a cemetery for former slaves. Library of Congress photograph.

The extraction of clay by the Alexandria Brick Company from the west and south edges of the cemetery exposed human remains in the 1890s. Alexandria Library Local History and Special Collections.

Harriet Jacobs, a former slave and celebrated author, was one of the many agents of private freedmen’s aid societies that ministered to the needs of Alexandria’s freedpeople. The city’s formerly enslaved people received contributions and visits from such prominent figures as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman. Photograph from a private collection.

Freedmen’s Cemetery today [2000]: the site of a gas station and office building.

Left: Freedmen’s Cemetery state highway marker, dedicated in September 2000. Right: A detail of a site map created by URS Greiner Woodward Clyde, a cultural resources management firm. Their 1999-2000 test excavations in small portions of the site unearthed evidence of nearly sixty graves, even extending under Washington Street. An earlier ground- penetrating radar survey by another firm indicated the presence of many burials beneath the gas station parking lot.