Members of the 31st Masonic District gather in front of the Smugglers and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial during the dedication of the site on July 24th for the site’s inclusion on the African American Civil Rights Network. Photo by Janet Barnett / Gazette Packet
They fled the bondage of slavery. Thousands of African Americans flocked to Alexandria during the Civil War, but given the cramped living conditions and the sick who arrived, many died of disease and hardship.
In 1864, after hundreds had died, the Superintendent of Contrabands, as the freedmen were called, ordered land on the southern outskirts to be confiscated for use as a cemetery. An estimated 1,800 African Americans were buried in the cemetery before the final burial took place in January 1869.
When the federal government abandoned the property, it fell into disrepair and was neglected. It would be almost 130 years before real estate’s importance was recognized. On July 24th, a wreath-laying ceremony officially celebrated the inclusion of the historic smugglers and freedmen cemetery in the national African American civil rights network.
“The National Park Service is honored to be part of the African American Civil Rights Network,” said Charles Cuvelier, park superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway. “This memorial is about connecting people to places in the landscape that are really the tapestry and the fabric to tell our stories and honor our heritage through those who have had experiences today and life experiences of those who went before us. “
The African American Civil Rights Network is a collection of 57 historical resources that commemorate, honor, and interpret the country’s civil rights movement and the ongoing struggle for racial equality. The Smugglers and Freedmen Cemetery is the oldest and first site in Virginia to be added to the network.
When the US Army established the burial ground for contraband and freedmen, it became one of the few final resting places of its kind in the country. Shortly thereafter, the cemetery became the site of Alexandria’s first known civil rights demonstration.
After the burial of 118 US Colored troops in the Smuggled and Freedmen Cemetery, US Colored troops protested and requested the right of their comrades to be buried in what is now Alexandria National Cemetery. As a result of their action, the soldiers were reburied in the Alexandria National Cemetery.
The dedication on July 24th, 2021 included a wreath-laying ceremony by the 31st
“We are so proud to be honored by the National Park Service and to be the first Virginia site to be listed on the Civil Rights Network,” said Davis. “It is so important to us that people now recognize the petition as one of the earliest civil rights campaigns in Alexandria. It is not the earliest, but it is a very, very important organized struggle by African Americans for civil rights, and we are very proud of that. “
The Smugglers and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial is located at 1001 S. Washington St.
https://www.alexandriava.gov/FreedmenMemorial