Alexandria: A Union City in Dixie?
Can a town be considered “Confederate” even when its Secessionist population fled to Dixie? Is it still pro-Southern if Northern forces occupy it during wartime? How should we view a city that was home to the 17th Virginia Infantry even though the Rebel army tried numerous times to invade and destroy it? While philosophical in nature, the City of Alexandria, Virginia encompassed all of this and more in the wake of the Lost Cause. In refreshing how we research and discuss Alexandria’s Civil War history, it is even more critical to address these questions. Was Alexandria a Confederate or Union city? Let’s weigh the evidence.
While some Southern locales expressed overwhelming political support for secession or advocated for slavery’s continuation and their Northern counterparts equally pushed for abolitionist beliefs, Alexandria experienced a mix of both ideologies on the street and in the ballot box. This port city embraced ardent antebellum values, such as its heinous role in the slave trade, while industrializing to send cargo to factories in the North. Several prominent families acquired property in Alexandria in the early 19th Century, like the Lees and Fairfaxes, bringing with them a new generation of loyalty to the deeper South. Others fell somewhere along the Unionist spectrum: advocating against war, pushing for compromise, or considering disunion against American nationalism.
George W. Brent encompassed the true mix of Unionist and Southern sentiment that afflicted many Alexandrians. A Virginia politician who represented the city at the state secession convention, he warned that a war would lead to slavery’s demise – calling for further legislation to protect Southern (and Alexandrian) interests. After failing to prevent his state’s parting, Brent himself joined the 17th Virginia to protect slavery, which was comprised of a good number of local men.[1] Despite being pro-Union, Brent’s story exhibits the line that many Northern Virginians straddled as their nation’s politics grew increasingly black-and-white. Alexandrians sent a man to the convention who promoted slavery’s permanence in the law, while strived for concession on secession. While not every “Rebel” must be rabid or pious in their support of the cause, did Brent’s compromise point more toward Unionism and not to the spirit of a Confederate town?
While Brent represented Alexandria on the political stage, the citizenry truly showed the city’s Southern values. Its role in the slave trade stained the reputation of this town and the citizens once prospered from its economy. In the 1860 election, however, and despite having a significant “secesh” population, Alexandrians voted for John Bell and the Constitutional Union Party, further separating themselves from stronger Confederate stances on slavery and secession.[2]
The day after Virginia seceded, the Union Army began a military occupation of the city. An overwhelming amount of citizens fled into the Confederacy, leaving their homes and businesses relatively unpacked since many believed this war would be over quickly. As secessionism became synonymous with subversion during the occupation, relocating to Richmond helped to avoid confrontation for their secessionist beliefs. This flight into Dixie represented their perceived safety concern over governance by the military, and the lengths they would go to adhere to their views.
The Union occupation of Alexandria transformed the city into a “Yankee” military base overnight. It was seized in order to control the port, send supplies to “Union blue” by rail, and protect Washington from the Confederates. Between the construction of two dozen forts and armed patrol for potential espionage, this prevented Alexandria from falling into Rebel hands. Confederate raids in Northern Virginia were planned to extend through Alexandria at an attempt to get to the capital; “liberating” it from Northern clutches was a secondary reason. Today, we do not read about a “battle of Alexandria” in textbooks. It is a well-preserved Southern town due to the Union’s fortifications and efforts to keep the Confederates out.
As a final consideration, Alexandrians did choose to return to their hometown. Hundreds of citizens filed formal complaints against the federal occupation with the Southern Claims Commission. It was both a way to replenish lost funds or materials and a maneuver to assert at least some power or control over their uprooted lives. This mass return to Alexandria meant that the former residents did not judge their town as tainted by the Union presence. We can view this as a reclamation of their property and the start of a movement to restore their values. The “Lost Cause” flourished in a city populated by Confederate veterans, depleted businesses, and elite Southern families with a grudge. The Mary Custis Lee-17th Virginia Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy reinterred Rebel soldiers out of the Alexandria National Cemetery, opened the Robert E. Lee Camp Hall Museum to honor their infantry, and constructed the “Appomattox” statue that once stood in the middle of town – all in an effort to assert that Alexandria, although captured by the Union, was a Confederate city.
Biography
Madeline Feierstein is an Alexandria, VA historian specializing in psychiatric institutions, hospitals, and prisons. A native of Washington, D.C., her work has been showcased across the Capital Region. Madeline leads efforts to document the sick, injured, and imprisoned soldiers that passed through Civil War Alexandria. Additionally, she supports the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and interprets the burials in Alexandria’s historically rich cemeteries with Gravestone Stories. Madeline holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from George Mason University and a Master’s in American History from Southern New Hampshire University. Explore her research at www.madelinefeierstein.com.
Endnotes
[1] Library of Virginia. “George William Brent.” Online Classroom, 2001. https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/oc/union-or-secession/people/george-william-brent.
[2] The Constitutional Union Party, compromised of former Whigs, hoped to avoid secession over slavery. Many members opted not to join the Republican or Democratic Party once the Whig Party dissolved. They viewed the enforcement of the U.S. Constitution as paramount and peace-seeking as the primary task in the wake of secessionist movements.
Your research is flawed. The bodies of the Confederate soldiers were removed from the Alexandria National Cemetery in the mid-1870s by the Southern Memorial Association. The United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded in 1894. Mary Custis Lee Chapter 7 was formed in 1895. 17th Virginia Regiment Chapter 41 was formed in 1896. The two chapters merged in 1919.
Thank you for correcting my error! It should’ve properly mentioned the Southern Memorial Association. I hope you enjoyed the rest of the article.
Very interesting as always! Two questions: Did the Confederacy ever make an attempt to reclaim Alexandria? Also, do you know about what percentage of the population fled south during occupation?
Thank you so much! Happy to answer your questions. As for reclamation of Alexandria: there were attempts to weaken Union control there, and thus remove the Union presence, but raids did not get past the strong fortifications that surrounded the city. My understanding is that this was all in an attempt to get to D.C., since Alexandria was protecting the capital (hence, why occupied!).
The estimate for those who left is around 60% of the population, although this includes residents who fled North, as well. While I don’t have a clear count of how many left for the Confederacy, we know that at least 350 claims were filed by Alexandrians with the Southern Claims Commission after the war. Those residents returned, but not all did. The pre-war population was over 12,000 (with about 3,000 to account for free and enslaved people) and by 1865 it was about 7,000 – but this includes the military, free persons, and Contraband persons. It is highly likely that only a few thousands citizens remained in the city during the war, if that. I hope this answers your question!
Great post! Perhaps the retrocession of Alexandria in 1847 speaks to it’s identity as a Southern town as well?
Oh, excellent point! This helped solidify Alexandria’s “Southern values” and indicated the extent it would be willing to go to adhere to these beliefs. Retrocession = mini secession?
Thanks Madeline, a great story about one of my favorite towns.
Alexandria was a famous Confederate town — for one day at least — when one of its innkeepers shot and killed Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, commanding officer of the 5th New York Infantry. James Jackson, the proprietor of the Marshall House (corner of King and S. Pitt streets), had been flying a large Confederate flag over the hotel for the month prior to Virginia’s secession. The flag was reported to be easily visible from Union encampments across the Potomac.
On May 24th, 1861 (the day after VA’s secession) Colonel Ellsworth and three of his soldiers entered the hotel, proceeded to the roof, and cut down the flag. Coming down the stairs, flag in hand, Ellsworth and one of his men were surprised by Jackson who was armed with a shotgun. Jackson blasted Ellsworth in the chest, killing him instantly. He then fired at Corporal Francis Brownell, but missed. Brownell returned fire, killing Jackson and avenging his colonel. Ellsworth, who had been a close friend of President Lincoln, was hailed as the first Union officer killed in the war.
The story did not end after the Civil War, however, as echoes of Alexandria’s Confederate past were heard well into the next two centuries. In the 1990s, the Sons of Confederate Veterans commissioned a memorial plaque to James Jackson which was ensconced in a new hotel built on the site of the old Marshall House. It proudly proclaimed Jackson as “the first martyr to the cause of Southern Independence” … a man who “coolly and for a great principle laid down his life in defense of his home and sacred soil of his native state.” True to form, however, the Boys of the Lost Cause left out the part of the story where Jackson gunned down Ellsworth in cold blood in a dark stairwell — not exactly a high bar for “great principle.”
In 2013, the citizens of Alexandria petitioned the city to remove the plaque. The city responded that the offending plaque was on private property and there was little action they could take. It remained there until 2017 when new owners of the hotel removed the plaque and gave it to the United Daughters of Confederacy. So, as Paul Harvey would say “that’s the rest of the story.”
Ellsworth’s tale really “marked” Alexandria as a pro-Confederate town, didn’t it? Despite the rather neutral sentiments of many citizens, the actions of one man painted the city as a Confederate stronghold!
When thinking about the Commonwealth of Virginia as a whole, the north western part of the state was the most “non-Confederate”, becoming the pro-Union state of West Virginia in 1863. And the part of the Alexandria’s Civil War history that was the most “unconfederate” was the pouring-in of thousands of self-liberating formerly enslaved people looking for freedom and a better life during the war years. Their ability to work for wages and get an education, their striving for human dignity, had a profound impact on the city.
Hello Madeline…Here is some additional information for you. It was not the UDC that erected the Appomattox statue. It was the newly formed Robert E. Lee Camp of Confederate Veterans in 1885 that proposed erecting a monument to their fallen comrades. A Monument Committee was established to solicit ideas. John Adams Elder, a well-known artist in Fredericksburg, submitted a clay sculpture based on a figure from his painting called “Appomattox.” Elder’s submission was chosen and a New York City sculptor, Caspar Buberl, was selected to create the bronze statue. Fund raising was a community effort. Churches, businesses, individuals and even children participated to raise the needed $3000. Donation boxes were placed around the city.
The completed statue was unveiled on May 24, 1889, the 28th anniversary of the day the Union forces entered Alexandria and the day the local militiamen gathered at the intersection of Prince and S. Washington Streets to walk away into the broader conflict. The Alexandria Gazette, Friday evening, May 24, 1889, pages 3 & 4, gives a good coverage of the ceremony. In a nutshell, the day was designated a holiday; city offices closed early and schools and businesses were closed all day. By noon a vast number of people poured into the town from “every point of the compass.” There was a big parade with Confederate camps, other military organizations, civic groups, firemen and at least 10 bands. Virginia Governor Fitzhugh Lee delivered the primary oration. Several banquets for various cohorts of attendees followed. The evening ended with fireworks at the statue.
The UDC didn’t come into the picture until 1922 when the Veterans who were dying off transferred the statue to the ladies for perpetual care and preservation. Edgar Warfield was the last Veteran to die in 1935 (I think, 1935ish). He was the man who made the proposal to erect a monument.