Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial (Historical Marker)

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial
Seeking freedom and a chance to begin a new life thousands of African Americans fleeing slavery flooded Civil War-era Alexandria. The city was quickly overwhelmed, and as living conditions grew dire, many perished from disease and deprivation. In 1864, the federal government established an African American burial ground here.

Within five years, the government abandoned the property. Left unprotected, and neglected by all but the families of the deceased, the cemetery endured multiple desecrations that nearly erased the memory of this site.

Today, through the efforts of a committed advocacy group, archaeologists, historians, descendants, and the City of Alexandria, this cemetery is reclaimed as a place of remembrance and reflection.

Buried History

The Cemetery property changed hands many times over the years, and was rarely mapped or recorded. Left vulnerable to encroachment, parts of the cemetery were paved over by South Washington Street, and its southern edge was destroyed by the Beltway. The wall in front of you marks another such desecration — an office building constructed here in 1960 directly over the cemetery. Now underground, the building's slab was left in place to protect the graves that may remain below.

Uncovering the Story

In 1967, historical research brought the cemetery's history to light. Both moved and outraged by the story of the Contrabands and Freedmen, a committed advocacy group and city officials were inspired to protect what remained of the cemetery. In 2007, the encroaching structures were dismantled, and a respectful archaeological study was completed, revealing the location of more 540 of the cemetery's graves. The graves were preserved and are now marked in the Memorial.

A Living Memorial

In 2013, the cemetery was re-dedicated, with a full listing of the names of the dead. While the story told here lies in the past, it also is a part of Alexandria's present and future. Through genealogical research, many descendants of the people buried here have been identified, some of whom still live nearby. These descendants, as well as all who visit the memorial seeking to understand our history, honor the memory of those buried here and sustain the connection to our past.


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Brickyard
The Washington Post reported in 1892: “Of late the owners have allowed neighboring brick yards to dig clay from which the outer edges of the graveyard with which to make brick. This digging, seconded by heavy rains, has resulted in unearthing many coffins and skeletons and leaving the outer graves in very bad conditions.” Brick manufacturers like the one whose wagon is shown here most likely excavated for clay on the western edge of the cemetery.

Gas Station, 1955
The tanks and foundation of a gas station destroyed many graves. Leaking oil andgaloline further contaminated the site.

Office Building, 1960
The construction of an office building and its adjacent parking lot had a great impact on the cemetery. Grading removed large amounts of soil from parts of the site, leaving many graves very close to the surface.

Coffin Hinge
Archaeological investigation led to the discovery of some artifacts associated with burials. Coffin hardware, such as this hinge, was discovered only in places where 20th-century grading had cut into the graves. In undisturbed areas, archaeologists found a few objects, like oyster shells, that could have been placed on top of a grave and may speak to African American burial practices. All artifacts associated with the graves were left in place and now protected.

Luminaries
As part of the re-dedication of the site in 2007, Alexandria schoolchildren created luminaries for each of the individuals believed to buried in the cemetery.

“I am thankful there is a beginning. I am full of hope for the future. A Power mightier than man is guiding this revolution; and though justice moves slowly, it will come at last. The American people will outlive this mean prejudice against complexion.” — Harriet Jacobs, freedwoman, author, educator and dedicated aid-worker in Alexandria during the Civil War.

Lillie Finklea and Louise Massoud created Friends of Freedmen's Cemetery in 1997 to preserve, commemorate, and research this burying ground.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Clio Foundation website as written by Genna Duplisea:

Introduction
Throughout the Civil War, enslaved Americans fled to Union-controlled areas and many found work as servants assisting the war effort in places like Alexandria. Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation which declared that all slaves in rebel-held territory were free, escaping slaves were commonly referred to as "contrabands." Although this reference likened people to property, the term derives from supportive Union Generals who took the initiative to exploit the unclear legal status of escaping Black men and women in the same way they might treat a rifle or mule that could assist the rebellion if returned to the South. As more "contraband" humans entered Alexandria, some of them succumbed to disease. In response, local officials set aside this land for the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery.

Backstory and Context
The escaped slaves who worked for the Union Army in 1861 and 1862 posed a legal quandary for the government, as the law suggested that they were the property of rebelling slaveholders as the Union refused to acknowledge the legality of secession. In the early days of the war, some slaves were returned to the Confederacy. Recognizing the way slave labor helped the Confederate economy, Union military officials declared that escaped slaves were ‘contraband.' As a result, they declared that Union leaders were under no obligation to return slaves to their masters. For this reason, the African American population of Alexandria doubled in the first year of the war.

Many of the escaped slaves arrived in poor health. While working for the army or searching for work around Alexandria, they also became malnourished. The already high mortality rate was exacerbated by unsanitary housing as many were placed in overcrowded barracks of left to create their own shantytowns from any materials they could find.

The land used to develop the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery was seized from a pro-Confederate owner in 1864 and used as a burial (or re-burial) ground for African Americans in Alexandria. Black soldiers were laid to rest at this site instead of the Soldier’s Cemetery (now Alexandria National Cemetery) where white troops were buried. When African American troops demanded that Black servicemen buried in the Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery be given the honor of having the Soldier’s Cemetery, their bodies were disinterred and taken to receive a soldier's burial in a separate section of that cemetery.

The Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery was only in use for five years, with the last recorded burial in 1869. Unofficial burials continued to take place at the cemetery. A gas station and an office building existed on the property at various points in history. As a result, the graves of many African Americans were disturbed in the past century. Around 1800 people are buried here, with about one-third of those graves intact.

In 1987, local historians and concerned citizens demonstrated a need to preserve the area after historical research rediscovered the cemetery during the planning of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction. In 1997, residents held a memorial service for those buried in the cemetery. The City of Alexandria created memorial park in 2014. This park contains markers that tell the history of the area and honor the African Americans who escaped slavery and aided the Union war effort. At the center of the park stands a statue entitled "The Path of Thorns and Roses" by Mario Chiodo, and bronze plaques give the known names of those buried in the cemetery.


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Here follows an excerpt from the Atlas Obscura website:

Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery
Alexandria, Virginia
Once forgotten and built over, this historic Black cemetery now houses a poignant memorial.

This graveyard was opened during the Civil War to bury the contrabands (people who had escaped slavery) and freedmen who were fleeing to Alexandria, a Union-occupied city, on the northern boundary of the Confederacy. Around 1,700 Black Americans were laid to rest within its grounds.

Though the last recorded burial took place in 1869, unofficial burials continued. But its location and purpose were soon all but forgotten by the city. Mention of the cemetery disappeared from maps by the 1940s. The land was sold and resold, and finally a gas station and office building were constructed on the site.

In 1987, mention of the graveyard was rediscovered in old papers. Decades later, the buildings were razed and the site once again became a hallowed place and memorial, though only about one third of the graves remained intact.

A statue at the center called The Path of Thorns and Roses shows people fighting to break free from a snarl of vines, which represents the fight to escape slavery. Walls covered in bronze plaques bearing the names of the buried dead stand nearby, framing the foundation of the former gas station.

This graveyard stands in stark contrast to the graveyard across the street, which is from the same time period and belongs to a white Catholic church.