Madeline Feierstein
Madeline Feierstein is an Alexandria, VA historian and founder of the history education company Rooted in Place, LLC. Madeline leads the Education Department at Emerging Civil War and has written for Emerging Revolutionary War, Civil War Monitor, and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. She leads genealogy projects and conducts significant research on the history of hospitals, prisons, and wartime America. She is the author of Occupied Alexandria: How the Civil War Transformed a Southern City (The History Press, 2026) and is currently working on a second manuscript on the life of U.S. Army surgeon Lt. Col. Edwin Bentley. Madeline holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from George Mason University and a Master’s in American History from Southern New Hampshire University. Connect with Rooted in Place, LLC at www.madelinefeierstein.com and follow on Instagram @rootedinplace_
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.
