Madeline Feierstein
Madeline Feierstein is the Lead Historian at the Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden in Alexandria, VA. She specializes in the history of psychiatric institutions, military hospitals, and prisons. Over the last several years, she has led significant projects documenting the soldiers who were treated and fell in Alexandria’s wartime hospitals. Her lectures and projects reflect growing conversations in Alexandria surrounding the city’s role during the Civil War. She develops and leads guided tours at Lee-Fendall and in Old Town Alexandria.
Additionally, Madeline supports the National Museum of Civil War Medicine at several of their locations – most notably the Clara Barton Missing Soldier’s Office – and leads cemetery tours with Gravestone Stories.
Originally from Washington D.C., Madeline earned her Bachelor of Science in Criminology from George Mason University. She has received her Master of Arts in American History from Southern New Hampshire University. Madeline blended the investigative aspects of her undergraduate work with her passion for the Civil War, culminating in her MA thesis: “Union-Occupied Alexandria: Managing Disharmony in the Civil War” on the crime rates and disorder in her own town.
Besides a love of history, Madeline enjoys learning foreign languages and is a big fan of Harry Potter (proud Ravenclaw). Madeline is currently working on a book manuscript titled “Confine & Fortify: The Military Government of Civil War Alexandria,” which she intends to publish in 2026. Explore her research and catch her next tour at www.madelinefeierstein.com.
A full listing of Madeline’s Emerging Civil War articles can be found here.
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Madeline is also a member of the Emerging Civil War Speakers Bureau. Her available presentations are listed below:
Investigating Alexandria’s Civil War Prisons: Confinement & Justice During Union Occupation
An examination of the conditions of Alexandria’s five prisons as a response to rising crime rates and disorder in the city while under martial law.
St. Elizabeth’s Asylum: Civil War Care at the Government Hospital for the Insane
This lecture sheds light on the role that the St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital played in Civil War Washington, and as an experiment in care for the mentally-ill in the 19th Century.
Philip Fendall II: Anti-Slavery in Antebellum Washington
An exploration into the political leanings and legal actions of Philip Fendall II, first cousin to Robert E. Lee, who opposed slavery and yet benefitted from the institution.
Grosvenor Branch Hospital: The Confiscation of the Lee-Fendall House
A detailed account of how the historic Lee-Fendall House in Alexandria transformed into a Union Army hospital, utilizing data and stories from the medical ledgers.
