In October 1862, Reverend Albert S. Gladwin began performing the duties of Superintendent of Contrabands. One of the responsibilities of the superintendent was recording deaths, burials, and marriages of the many freedom-seekers living in the city.

The significance of the Book of Records stems from the detailed information it provides about African American individuals living in Alexandria during and immediately after the war. Analysis of the causes of fatality and ages of death in the Book of Records provides a glimpse into the health problems that resulted from the difficult journeys and unfortunate living conditions of the freedom-seekers. In addition, Historians have studied the notations that document the places of death in the Book of Records to achieve an understanding of where the formerly enslaved and freedpeople were residing during and immediately after the tumultuous years of the Civil War.

Book of Records: A Transcription

If you would like to access this information as a spreadsheet, please contact Alexandria Archaeology.

The original Book of Records, and a copy on microfilm, resides at the Library of Virginia.

Learn more about The Book of Records on these pages.

The transcription captures the information listed in the Book of Records from early March 1863 to January 12, 1869, as recorded first by the office of the Superintendent of Contrabands during the Civil War and then by the Freedmen’s Bureau. Minimal changes have been made to the records to ensure greater consistency in the presentation of the data. For instance, while the ages of infants at the time of death are listed in the record either in terms of months, weeks, days, or years plus months, the transcription always presents the ages in years plus months plus days, as applicable. Despite some variation in the historical document, abbreviations used for locations in the transcription are “cor.” for “corner” and “bet.” for “between.”

In addition, supplemental information has occasionally been included in the transcription, if warranted and/or available from outside sources.[1] When the original record lists “Barracks” as the place of residence/death, the table below includes “[Prince St.]” as part of the information, because the Prince Street Barracks location was likely the domicile of the deceased. To aid in genealogical research, alternative names or spellings of names are also included in brackets, based on variable interpretations of the handwriting in the original document or on information that is available from other sources. The latter is especially true for the names of some USCT soldiers who were originally buried at the site, because additional historical records exist relating to their service to the country.

It is hoped that this information from the Book of Records will be of use to researchers investigating genealogical connections, neighborhoods, demography, health, and perhaps other aspects of life in Civil War Alexandria.

[1] Outside sources include: Wesley Pippenger, Alexandria, Virginia Death Records 1863-1868 (The Gladwin Record) and 1869-1896 (Westminster, MD: Family Line Publications, 1995), including information from an 1865 memorandum book, Records of the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, Record Group 105, Entry 3878, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.; Friends of Freedmen’s Cemetery, “African American Soldiers of the Civil War Buried in Section B of Alexandria National Cemetery, 1864-1865,” 2007; Edward A. Miller, Jr., “Volunteers for Freedom: Black Civil War Soldiers in Alexandria National Cemetery, Parts I and II,” Historic Alexandria Quarterly (Alexandria, VA: City of Alexandria, Fall and Winter, 1998).