Alexandria Contrabands & Freedmen Cemetery served as the burial place for about 1,800 African Americans who fled to Alexandria to escape from bondage during the Civil War. A Memorial opened in 2014 on the site of the cemetery, to honor the memory of the Freedmen, the hardships they faced, and their contributions to the City.
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Address
1001 S. Washington Street
(at the corner of Church Street)
Alexandria, Virginia, 22314
Hours of Operation
Open dawn to dusk. On-street parking available nearby.
About the Memorial
A photographic tour of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial, looking at the deeper meaning of the features in the memorial built in 2014.
"We must always remember the sacrifices of those laid to rest here."
Lillie Finklea, President, Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery
The Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial in Alexandria, Virginia, is a sacred site dedicated to honoring more than 1,700 people of African descent buried here during and immediately following the Civil War. A solemn and reverent place, the memorial offers opportunities for reflection, commemoration, education, and the search for cultural identity. Through reclamation of this nearly forgotten burial ground and preservation of the hundreds of graves that have survived, we pay tribute to the dignity and courage of Alexandria's freed men, women, and children. We not only remember their story, but also our own history as a community and a nation. The memorial stands as a reminder to generations that the struggle for freedom and equality and the people who fought for it cannot, and will not, be forgotten.
The Memorial is part of the African American History Division. This division, formed in 2023, will ensure the continued inclusion of Black History in City museums and public programming, as well as advancing the City’s goal of building a welcoming community through equity and inclusion.
The 10th Anniversary was commemorated in 2024 with a Candlelight VIgil.
The bronze statue serves as a focal point that beckons visitors into the memorial. The Path of Thorns and Roses, designed by Mario Chiodo, portrays a spiraling journey through Oppression, Struggle, Sacrifice, Loss, and Compassion. It culminates in Hope, as depicted by the sculpture’s highest figure holding a rose that has yet to bloom.
2. Place of Remembrance
Stone walls enclose a plaza for reflection and display bronze tablets inscribed with the names of those buried in the cemetery as written in the original record book. Icons are installed as descendants are identified, making this a living memorial. Interpretive panels provide insight into the lives and contributions of the Contrabands and Freedmen who made their way to Alexandria. Bas-reliefs by artist Joanna Blake illustrate the race to freedom and the importance of education to the freedom-seekers.
3. Memorial Fence
The metal fence around the memorial echoes the design of the original white wooden picket enclosure thought to have surrounded Soldiers’ Cemetery (today known as Alexandria National Cemetery) during the Civil War. The arched entrance to the memorial reminds visitors of the arches depicted in photographs of Union soldiers’ encampments in Alexandria during the war.
4. Central Path
Archaeological investigations at the site discovered evidence of a path that was likely used by carts carrying the dead. Appropriately, it became the pathway into the Memorial.
5. Gravestones
Rows of stones flush with the ground mark the locations of graves discovered by archaeologists. Of the 1,711 burials known to be present on the site from historical records, archaeological investigations identified 631. Additional burials are likely present in areas not tested archaeologically. Each is marked to ensure future preservation. On the south side of the path, five hexagonal shapes reminiscent of the outlines of the underlying coffins delineate two adults and three children. The smaller outlines underscore the vulnerability of infants and children under the age of 16, who comprise more than fifty percent of the burials.
6. Native American Site Marker
Archaeological investigations discovered thousands of stone artifacts in the cemetery, including a possible Clovis spear point, made as early as 13,000-years ago. These finds reveal that Native Americans camped and made tools for millennia on this this bluff overlooking Hunting Creek.
7. U.S. Colored Troop Marker
As a result of a December 1864 protest and petition by USCT soldiers, African American troops buried in this section of the cemetery were moved to the military burial ground now known as Alexandria National Cemetery in 1865. This event is recognized as one of the earliest civil rights actions in Alexandria. The cemetery is included in the national African American Civil Rights Network.
8. Sidewalk Markers
Historically, South Washington Street was a narrow path. The cemetery extended farther east into what is now the road. Archaeological excavations discovered numerous graves under the sidewalk and into the street. Known grave locations are marked with a stone brick in the sidewalk.
9. Historic Interpretation Sign
Learn more about the cemetery’s history and preservation on this interpretive panel.
10. State Highway Marker
Founded in 1997, the Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery formed to preserve, commemorate, and study what was, at the time, a little-known Civil War era African American burying ground. Part of their efforts to bring recognition to the site included the installation of the state historical highway marker in 2000.
11. Remnants of Disturbance and Desecration.
The remains of a former gas station and office building chronicle the losses and mistreatment of the cemetery. The foundations of these buildings remain in place to protect the graves presumed to be below. The Place of Remembrance stands on the foundations of the gas station, the gas tanks of which destroyed many graves. The historic boundaries of the cemetery remain uncertain due to additional desecrations that occurred over time.
This video explores the history of the founding of the Freedmen Cemetery in 1864 and the neglect and resurrection the cemetery experienced over the subsequent centuries.
The story of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial begins with the self-emancipation of enslaved people as the Civil War ravaged the fabric of established communities in the South. The news had spread quickly by word of mouth. Freedom was within reach! Facing the threat of recapture, harsh punishment, or death, they came from miles around—men, women, and children. Many had only the clothes on their backs, and a determination to be free. During the Civil War, thousands of African American people escaping enslavement sought refuge behind Union lines in Alexandria, Virginia.
First, they were runaways. Then, they were called “Contrabands.” By the end of the war, they were freedmen who had fought for their own liberation and built communities and lives afresh—the first step in a long and difficult road to full equality.
The refugees found freedom in Alexandria, but they also found a city under siege as Union forces seized control for defensive purposes. The influx of freedom-seekers overwhelmed the town, and rampant disease and deprivation took their toll. In 1864, the military government created a cemetery for those who had survived enslavement but did not live long in freedom. The cemetery became the place of burial for at least 1,711 African American individuals whose names were recorded first by the office of the Superintendent of Contrabands during the war and then by the Freedmen’s Bureau until 1869.
In the first year, burials included those of Black soldiers, but African American troops recuperating in Alexandria’s hospitals demanded that they be given the honor of burial in the Soldiers’ Cemetery, now Alexandria National Cemetery. As a result of one of the earliest Civil Rights protests in the nation, 118 soldiers’ graves were disinterred and moved to the military cemetery in January 1865.
By the end of the nineteenth century, the cemetery began to fall victim to neglect and desecration. Its story—and that of those laid to rest there—was nearly forgotten. Discoveries by research historians helped to launch a decades-long campaign by local activists to reclaim the sacred ground. When plans for the reconstruction of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge took shape, this vision became reality, as city, state, and federal agencies worked together to restore this site to its rightful place in history.
Today, the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial honors the freedmen’s contributions to the City of Alexandria and the legacy of freedom personified by their descendants. The 631 grave locations identified by archaeologists are marked and preserved in place, restored to the dignity they deserve. Bronze panels list the names of those buried here and recognize those whose descendants have been found through genealogical research, underscoring family journeys to freedom and equality.
The 10th Anniversary
The 5th Anniversary of the Memorial, 2019.
The City of Alexandria invited the public to participate in the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial (1001 S. Washington St.) on September 6 and 7, 2024. This year’s remembrance honored the late Lillie Finklea and her work with her friend, the late Louise Massoud, to create the Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery.
Events included a Candlelight Vigil, Bus Tours, and Luncheon.
The project was completed under the stewardship of the City of Alexandria and the Friends of Freedmen's Cemetery, with funding from the City, the Federal Highway Administration and Virginia Department of Transportation through the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, and a grant from Save America's Treasures, a public-private partnership between the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Web content excerpted in part from the following sources:
Laura Trieschmann, “The Faithful Contrabands will be Justly Entitled to their Share,”A History of the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia, EHT Traceries, prepared for Alexandria Archaeology, Final Draft, September 2015.
Boyd Sipe, The Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial City of Alexandria, Virginia Archeological Data Recovery at Site 44AX0179, Thunderbird Archaeology, prepared for U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and Virginia Department of Transportation, March 2014.
The Journey to Be Free, Alexandria Black History Museum Exhibit, Opened September 2014.
Logo for Freedmen’s Cemetery recognizes the date of its establishment, honoring those who came to Alexandria but did not live long in freedom, and depicting the breaking of the chains of oppression.
Designed by former Assistant City Archaeologist Steven Shephard
