In late April 1865, a manhunt was underway across the Mid-Atlantic for John Wilkes Booth. To prevent President Lincoln’s assassin from crossing the Potomac River into Virginia, the US Army’s Quartermaster Department contracted a coal barge, the Black Diamond to augment a larger river flotilla hunting for Booth.   

In the very early morning of April 24, the Black Diamond tragically collided with another private vessel, Massachusetts, which was contracted to transport soldiers from Alexandria, Virginia to Fort Monroe in the Hampton Roads area. Eighty-seven men were lost. This included four civilian firefighters employed by the Quartermaster Department who had volunteered to help crew the Black Diamond on its important mission. As they died in service to their country, the four civilians from Alexandria, Virginia, were conferred the honor of being buried alongside deceased Union soldiers in a new type of burial ground, the Alexandria National Cemetery. 

Today, the Alexandria National Cemetery is found within the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, an expansive 82-acre area encompassing over a dozen different community cemeteries in Old Town Alexandria. A red sandstone wall, stately iron gate and nearly uniform white stone gravestones arrayed in neat lines distinguish this cemetery from its neighbors.  

While national cemeteries are not unique to the United States, for over one hundred fifty years our government has devoted significant resources and attention to the dignified burial of its war dead and  military veterans. The advent of national cemeteries in the United States came at the beginning of the Civil War as the need for the Federal Government to maintain its own cemeteries became apparent. Large numbers of men were quickly joining the Army’s ranks. Equally fast, the terrible cost of war was realized. Soldiers were lost in battles or died of combat related wounds. Diseases and accidents killed even more. Past practices of local burials in private cemeteries or returning soldiers’ remains to families were no longer feasible. 

As a first step, in September 1861 the Quartermaster Department recorded where soldiers were being buried and provided wooden grave markers.  In July 1862, Congress directed the president to acquire appropriate grounds for “a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country”. 

The early cemeteries were established near Army camps and training centers.  At the time, Alexandria was an important logistical hub, supply depot, and training area for the Union Army. The city also anchored the southern defenses of Washington, DC, (as seen today at nearby Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site) and operated multiple Union Army hospitals around the city. In 1862, the Army established a cemetery on four acres of local land already accommodating other graveyards, one of the first fourteen national cemeteries. Sadly, the cemetery filled quickly, even after a small expansion. By 1864, the Army began looking for other grounds for burials in the Washington area, leading to the establishment of today’s well known Arlington National Cemetery. 

Following the war, the Quartermaster Department began a massive multiyear project for identifying, excavating and reinterring soldier’s remains in additional newly established national cemeteries. By 1871, there were approximately 300,000 reinternments into more than 70 national cemeteries across the United States. This was the first time any nation undertook such an effort to bury its war dead. At first, only those who died on active service were allowed burial in a national cemetery. However, Civil War veterans wanted to be buried with their deceased comrades and Congress ultimately authorized burials for all honorably discharged veterans. 

Successive Congressional legislation authorized funds for marble headstones, walls, gates and structures to be built on cemetery grounds in an effort to keep the cemeteries simple yet stately. The famous landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted recommended a national cemetery be kept modest with “permanent dignity and tranquility … a sacred grove”. 

Today, the Alexandria National Cemetery remains a fine example of an early national cemetery aligning with Olmstead’s vision. Despite the cemetery’s urban location, it remains a quiet setting, save for airplanes coming and going from Reagan National Airport. A handsome brownstone building stands to the left of the main entrance marked by the ornate cast-iron gate found at the end of Wilkes Avenue.

The building is based upon a design by architect Edward Clark and approved by Montgomery Miegs, the Quartermaster General of the Army during the Civil War. The design became known as the “Miegs Plan” and the buildings were intended for use as a superintendent’s home and office. Clark designed these lodges in the French Second Empire style using locally quarried Seneca sandstone to resemble other fashionable dwellings and office buildings built during this time. 

Only about twenty of these structures remain in national cemeteries today. The building currently houses office space and meeting rooms. A paper bound directory on the building’s porch assists visitors in locating specific graves. A redbrick annex at the back of the building is a converted restroom from the 1880s. 

Approximately 4,000 white stone markers spread out in orderly rows over the carefully manicured acres. The cemetery is currently closed to new internments (save for veterans or family members to be buried in an existing grave).

A paved roadway circumvents a central flagpole, flying the US flag. The graves of the four civilian firefighters who perished aboard the Black Diamond lie near the flagpole; a granite monument to their memory was added in 1922. 

A marble platform with a podium and seating area replaced an older cast iron version in the 1940s. Meant for internment ceremonies, it is often used today for Memorial Day services. It is a convenient spot for pausing and contemplating the stories and sacrifices of those buried around you.  After spending some time on the grounds, it is clear that while the Alexandria National Cemetery is not as large nor renowned as its regional neighbor in Arlington, it is still a very active civic space for the people of Alexandria.

The grounds are perpetually cared for and remain neat and tidy. Walkers, joggers and bikers respectfully traverse the grounds, sometimes personally cleaning and tending to the stones. Visitors seek out specific graves, paying respects and leaving the occasional memento. Veterans groups meet at the lodge, planning their activities. Each Memorial Day, US flags are dutifully placed on the graves. Each December, evergreen wreaths grace the headstones. 

Through successive wars, the American custom continues of providing war dead, veterans and certain family members with a dignified burial in well-arranged cemeteries. Much of this work is done through volunteers who devote time and energy to enhance their community’s national cemetery. You can help keep this tradition alive and ensure your local national cemetery remains and active part of the community.

There are currently 171 national cemeteries in the United States and its territories managed by various federal agencies. All of them welcome volunteers to maintain these “sacred groves” as dignified and respectful burial grounds. Duties vary by location and range from administrative support, attending funerals, planning events and grounds work.

Volunteering At A National Cemetery

Of the 171 national cemeteries in the United States and its territories, 151 are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, 14 are managed by the National Park Service, and two by the Department of the Army. Internationally, 26 national cemeteries are managed by the American Battlefield Monuments Commission. 

More information on volunteering at national cemeteries can be found here:

• Department of Veterans Affairs

• National Park Service (NPS)

Visit individual NPS National Cemetery websites for specific volunteer information.

• Arlington National Cemetery (ANC)

ANC routinely looks for volunteers to collect wreaths following the the annual Wreaths Across America observance. Check the ANC website each December for more information. Other volunteer opportunities may occur through the year.

Route Recon

By car:

The Alexandria National Cemetery is located at 1450 Wilkes Street in Alexandria, Virginia. The gates to the cemetery are located at the end of Wilkes Street. 

There is parking along Wilkes Street. 

By public transportation:

The closest Washington DC area Metro Stop is King Street Metro Station. Take the DASH Bus #31 towards Braddock Road Metro. Exit the bus at the corner of King Street and Fayette Street. The cemetery gates are a .6 mile walk from this bus stop. Walk south on Fayette Street, then make a right onto Wilkes Street. The cemetery is at the end of the street. 

Alternatively, take the King Street Trolly from the King Street Metro Station. Disembark at West and King Streets. Walk one block east on King to Payne Street. Walk four blocks south on South Payne Street to Wilkes Street. Make a right on Wilkes Street. The cemetery is at the end of the street.