Alexandria National Cemetery

Type of Exercise: Cycling/Biking
Biking Stats:
Distance: 19 mi (11 recorded)
Duration: ~ 2 Hours

“…On Fame's eternal camping-ground
Their silent tents are spread,
And Glory guards, with solemn round,
The bivouac of the dead….”

- Theodore O’Hara

Today I was joined by my wife, Jessi on a trip into Alexandria, to document the Alexandria National Cemetery. I must have been so excited to have Jessi come along that I forgot to start tracking the activity on my watch and lost all of our trip into town, about 8 miles. I only noticed when Jessi and I got into town and I looked down at my watch to check our mileage. Oh well! Today features a special guest appearance from my wife…

From Jessi:

On Finding Joy

As many people in my life know, a little more than 2 years ago I took a bad fall on a hiking trip and broke my back. That fall and the resulting chronic pain has changed me in ways I have not fully come to grips with. Before falling, Josh & I were avid cyclists and hikers. A regular weekend for us started with the notion that we would be doing a long distance cycling trip and/or a hiking trip. My life was, in nearly every way, defined by my cycling. And in one short moment, it was stripped away.

After 2 years of doctors, physical therapy, back braces, and soul searching I am in much different place today. As I’ve begun adding regular physical activity back to my life again, I’ve wondered time and time again, “will I ever feel joy again? Will doing this ever be fun again?” After fighting so hard to get it back, the initial hikes and bike rides were so hard. I was scared of everything. I was scared of falling again. Scared of being hit by a car and hurting my back again. Scared of forgetting how to do something. And they just weren’t fun. I felt no joy. I only felt fear.

One thing I’ve been trying to do these past months is learn how to give myself grace. I am still recovering. I do not have to be the cyclist or the hiker that I was before the injury. I do owe myself the chance to find joy in the things that used to bring me so much of it. And so. Today. Today I found that joy.

Today, in the fleeting moments of a September holiday, in the midst of a global pandemic, I took to my bike. And for the first time in more than 2 years, I felt true joy while riding. There was a rote familiarity to riding on the trails I used to know so well. It turned out that going down big hills screaming “WHEEEEE” really loudly and embarrassing my husband is still REALLY FUN. It turns out that injury isn’t the end of the road. I had a small spill - an error un-clipping myself from the pedals near to home. I landed in somebody’s springy well-mowed yard, and I managed to get up and finish the ride.

Joy, it turns out, was there waiting all along. For me to find it. It was in the unending patience of my husband who let me set a slow but steady pace for the longest ride I’ve done in more than two years. It was in the thrill of the downhill, but also in the accomplishment of making it up a big hill without taking a break. Joy is knowing that my body is different now but that my bike isn’t gone forever. Joy is not giving up on getting back this part of myself and working to regain more.

Now Josh is going to tell you a story about a cemetery. And you’ll realize we are two very different people.

Back to Josh…

The Cemetery

Two very different people, yes. One of us likes to go and investigate cemeteries and read ALL OF THE SIGNS and historical markers.

We wound our way along the Mount Vernon Trail North to the city of Alexandria and cut into the city underneath the MASSIVE Woodrow Wilson Bridge, which connects Virginia to Maryland across the Potomac at the National Harbor.

Once in town, we took my normal work commute route (from when commuting to the office was normal). So we found ourselves in front of the new Headquarters of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, who are putting on this Miles for Hope Event, and we snapped a selfie.

Following that, I rode over to Alexandria National Cemetery, a place I like to walk on occasion, during lunch hours (when working in town). The cemetery, first called “Soldiers Cemetery,” was originally about 4 acres of land acquired by the United States government in 1862. At the time and even until today, it is located within the City of Alexandria adjacent to Alexandria’s other cemeteries of various religious faiths. Eventually, around 1870 it was officially designated as one of the original 14 national cemeteries in the country. The establishment of these cemeteries was in response to the surge of war dead, resulting from the American Civil War 1860-1865. Many know of the nearby Arlington National Cemetery, which has its own stop on the local Metro Transit and contains the remains more than 400,000 people.

The Alexandria National Cemetery is tiny in comparison, housing only about 4,000 dead. Most are from the civil war era. During that time, Alexandria was the main station for all troops sent to defend the nation’s capital. Camps, including convalescent camps, were erected all around Alexandria to house soldiers and those who were recovering from war wounds. The soldiers stationed here were deployed to various forts and batteries in the locale such as Forts Farnsworth, Ward, Reynolds, Ellsworth and Williams.

Jessi and I had our wedding photos done at Fort Ward! It’s a lovely park all year round. The battlements and battery are preserved for the public to see. It’s really neat!

From here soldiers defending the capital marched to face the confederate army in nearby Manassas, Virginia. The battle was a crushing defeat for the Union Army, and a place was needed to bury their dead. Alexandria was also home to a number of medical hospitals and camps, which may have contributed to the need for such a place.

The cemetery originally contained a modest wooden house and fence, which was later upgraded in 1871 to Seneca Sandstone, mined from nearby Maryland. The sandstone is very unique and stately-looking. It has a red and purple hue to it and seems to weather extremely well. The house and sandstone fences remain in excellent condition today.

There are 4 particular graves I would like to highlight, as their deaths on April 24, 1865 are connected to a major national incident. These 4 men are: Peter Carroll, Samuel N. Gosnell, George W. Huntington, and Christopher Farley.

These men were Alexandria firemen, who were brought into the Quartermaster Corps of the Union Army and were deployed to search for Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. After Lincoln’s assassination, there was a massive effort both civilian and military to hunt down Lincoln’s killer, which spanned much of Maryland and into Virginia. The men buried here were seeking to prevent Booth from crossing the Potomac. Unfortunately, Booth had already crossed the Potomac two days prior to their deaths on April 22.

The men were on a ship called the “Black Diamond,” and they were patrolling the Potomac River. While on a picket patrol, it was not unreasonable to have minimal lighting. On that same night the USS Massachusetts was making its way down-river en-route to Norfolk, VA. They did not see the Black Diamond’s single light on the river and collided with it. Many soldiers/crew went overboard from the Massachusetts and by resolution of the incident, 87 men were dead or missing. Many of the bodies were not recovered from the river.

There is a plaque on a boulder next to these mens’ graves commemorating their sacrifice. It states:

”In Memory of Peter Carroll Samuel N. Gosnell Geo. W. Huntington Christopher Farley
Who Lost Their Lives April 24, 1865 While In Pursuit Of Booth The Assassin Of Our Beloved President Abraham Lincoln.”

You can read more about this story from the Dept. of Veterans Affairs here.

I snapped a few pictures of the large flagstone structure that showcases a large flagpole and the stone pulpit, used for services. A father and his young daughter were biking around the road that surrounds the cemetery. This runs counter to the rules of the cemetery, but it was cute and nobody cared, so I didn’t say anything. The little girl was transfixed by the flowers on some of the graves. She had to get off her bike and go look at them. It was adorable.

As I mentioned before, Alexandria National Cemetery is located among a number of other very old cemeteries in the area, with graves dating back to pre-civil war era. On the road leading to the national cemetery is lined with very old and wearing gravestones and monuments for city residents. I took a few pictures of some on the way out. I know from my past experiences there are some pretty decrepit mausoleums, some collapsing, in these cemeteries. You can definitely see and feel the weight of time while standing on these grounds. One of the pictures I took is of a small brick crypt that will someday soon be spilling out onto the road, given the angle it sits at on a small embankment (you can’t tell from my bad picture taking, though).

On my way out, I also took some pictures of the Douglass Cemetery, which was named in honor Frederick Douglass in 1895. It is a segregated black non-denominational cemetery on the outskirts of the nearby Episcopal cemetery. The grave markers are just as old and it sits next to a modern apartment complex. The cemetery was operated up until 1975 according to the sign posted.

I made my way back to my wife, who was having a snack and waiting for me to come back for lunch. We stopped in at my favorite work-lunch spot, “The Italian Gourmet Deli” and grabbed some sandwiches to go with some birch beer. They make HUGE sandwiches, and so we were feeling pretty lethargic on the way home. I’m going to blame the slow speed on our trip home on the sandwiches! It certainly had nothing to do with how tired we were from the ride up the trail! Haha!

Thanks for tagging along on this tiny adventure! Enjoy the pictures below!