City of Alexandria, VA
Explore Civil War Alexandria with Free iPhone App
On May 24, 1861, 150 years ago today, federal troops from Washington, D.C., took over Alexandria, a Union officer and Alexandria civilian were killed at the Marshall House on King Street, and hundreds of local men loyal to the South met at Prince and Washington streets to march off and fight with the Confederacy. For the next four years, Alexandria would remain occupied by Union troops, the longest occupation of the Civil War.
Now “Civil War Alexandria,” a new, free iPhone app from the Office of Historic Alexandria, allows users to explore Alexandria’s Civil War history as they tour the city – either in person or virtually – through historic images, a stop guide, GPS map and more!
Users will discover how Robert E. Lee’s hometown of Alexandria became a major operations center for Union forces, while thousands of African Americans came to the former slave-trading town seeking freedom and security behind Union lines. Alexandria’s unique Civil War heritage gives visitors today the chance to see a Union fort, a Confederate memorial, and museums dedicated to African American history. Check out more than two dozen distinctive sites and learn why Alexandria’s position as an occupied city made its Civil War experience unlike any other town in America – and why today Alexandria embraces its diversity as well as its past!