1
10
2
-
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/c2fa4d797a4d66d2d45ef6d79c49e7a4.jpg
ae044eab3c1afddb8c40829db5030492
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/a84445f64fd22c24ed60ce61fa19e3ce.jpg
12437b7e8d77d3cb916d424b7e93216b
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/22d388a38dbdcd29f8a70b15d4fad077.jpg
74af0ab95d654f5425424737cfe7af29
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/1e43bea9ae179b176a7c10dde537e3fc.jpg
6860045b0619bfc9868553411485fc96
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/477c445aa88fd2b40266cf3d5ed5f735.jpg
92b0e75bb3f7e6743b10967129e9c368
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/07303a2fe3a478173cf9ff65ae552e93.jpg
35708db07ef3fa5d03c5dc41b3b01673
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/42b09cf14662a0fe54bfd183b08ed1b3.jpg
12ef5f6c2aefda60b5d94a6feb796836
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/c298a538474223e6d9c1e2cb17b95aff.jpg
0bf23d91be93ee40102c807cc347fa26
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/970ad4e0074b4ac451083128b482ddac.jpg
e509ff13e0690153f0dd139f77a49aa3
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/0cef8f74c23d7e84be7806f2b9463c04.jpg
88386d88c3f70cb8f1f158c6f65baa9b
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/1a545be3636da3b23209a043d566d728.jpg
3f1b8dd7217510193cbc3781fecb1692
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/970f7088562b06b5adf0592290a254ab.jpg
9915e3cce9d72a58811a21563df8fe6d
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/27fe705027328b7120ec1f6fb2724abf.jpg
3c2d115424fdda446f1358a4276c5f63
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/26a5702147d065fc60463e712abfe788.jpg
85de5aba34be048038d0ad7443ca8903
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/902fbaa67ff332362f77bff804323605.jpg
5e6d6ac9276fffedc9724f4e5b6b680c
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/55f0bfcfe764e18ad19aa7270107be11.jpg
8e159915fa95cdddb53f9cb5a8396e6e
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/f7a6f633f961bb9186b2ad8d583656fa.jpg
183a163b957cce8a3becc4a01dfc218f
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/a7e7230d4a8d0519469361bdcbd8b1a6.jpg
897d8f8bc789a0c43b3c3eedde751d4c
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Harriet Tubman Monuments
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Written by Grace Yasumura
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Renée Ater
Description
An account of the resource
<div style="padding-right: 30%;">
<p>The monuments and memorials in the section commemorate the extraordinary achievements of the abolitionist and women’s rights activist <a href="https://www.harriettubmanmonuments.slaverymonuments.org/exhibits/show/commemorating-harriet-tubman/tubman-bio" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harriet Tubman</a>, née Araminta Ross, (c. 1822—1913). Born into slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, she escaped to freedom in 1849. During the next ten years, she made approximately thirteen trips into Maryland to rescue other enslaved family members and friends. She provided instructions for escape to about 70 more enslaved people who were able to self-emancipate. During the Civil War, she served the United States Army as a spy, scout, nurse and cook. As one of the most famous conductors of the <a href="https://www.harriettubmanmonuments.slaverymonuments.org/exhibits/show/commemorating-harriet-tubman/tubman-ugrr/short-history-ugrr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Underground Railroad</a>, the monuments in this section often depict Tubman leading groups of freedom seekers on their journey northwards to freedom, such as Mario Chiodo’s <a href="https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/3" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom</em></a>. In other works, such as Alison Saar’s <a href="https://www.harriettubmanmonuments.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/12" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Swing Low</em></a>, Tubman is depicted alone, facing southward as she makes the perilous journey back to Maryland to free more enslaved people.</p>
</div>
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Sculpture
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image
100 in. (274.32 cm.)
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<em>Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom</em> (Wilimington, DE)
Subject
The topic of the resource
<p>Subject (Topic) <br />Abolitionist--United States<br />Antislavery movements--United States <br />Fugitive slaves--United States <br />Northeastern United States <br />Public art <br />Public sculpture <br />Underground Railroad</p>
<p>Subject (Name) <br />Tubman, Harriet, 1822-1913 <br />Garrett, Thomas, 1789-1871</p>
<p>Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
Description
An account of the resource
A multi-figure sculpture of Harriet Tubman and Thomas Garrett leading two fugitive enslaved persons, a semi-nude man, and completely clothed woman, to freedom along the Underground Railroad in Wilmington, Delaware. Tubman carries a baby in her arms and wears a head wrap, shawl, haversack, and carries a pistol at her waist; Garrett wears a suit, cape and top hat, and holds a lantern. The sculpture includes three pairs of boots, a crate, and a barrel. Signed by the artist: M. Chiodo, 2012.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Chiodo, Mario, 1961-
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Photographs by Renée Ater
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Dedication: October 3, 2012
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Oasis Design Group (Kimley-Horn); The City of Wilmington’s Percent for Art Fund; Riverfront Development Corporation of Delaware; and Riverfront Wilmington Sculpture Selection Committee
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
The City of Wilmington Department of Parks and Recreation, 500 Wilmington Avenue, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801, United States
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
JPEG
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, 815 Justison Street, Wilmington, Delaware, 19801, United States
Has Part
A related resource that is included either physically or logically in the described resource.
<p><em><strong>Bronze plaque:</strong></em> <br />Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom, Dedicated October 3, 2012, Honorable James M. Baker, Mayor, Artist: Mario Chiodo.</p>
<p><em><strong>Inscripton on Tubman biographical bronze plaque:</strong> </em><br />Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; 1820 – March 10, 1913). ‘I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.’ Born on Maryland’s eastern shore, Harriet Tubman’s family of eleven suffered the indignities of violence and division common to the institution of slavery. Harriet escaped from slavery following the death of her owner in 1849. Over the course of 10 years, with the help of Thomas Garrett and other abolitionists, she led hundreds of slaves along the Underground Railroad through Wilmington to freedom in New York, New England, and Canada, earning the title of the ‘Moses of her people’. During the Civil War, she was a cook and a nurse and became a spy and armed scout for the federal forces, helping to liberate more than 700 slaves in South Carolina. Tubman died in 1913 at her home in Auburn, NY.</p>
<p><em><strong>Inscripton on Garrett biographical bronze plaque:</strong></em><br />Thomas Garrett (b. August 21, 1789 – d. January 24, 1871). ‘No labor during a long life has give me so much real happiness as what I have done for the slave.’ Thomas Garrett has been called Delaware’s greatest humanitarian and is credited with helping more than 2,700 slaves escape to freedom in a forty-year long career as a station master of the Underground Railroad. His abolitionist activities, along with the Quaker congregation from the Friends Meeting House in Wilmington, helped to make Wilmington an important gateway on the freedom trail. Garrett helped Harriet Tubman on her many journeys, giving her food, clothing, shelter, and money. He was convicted of violating the federal Fugitive Slave Law in 1848 and heavily fined and forced into bankruptcy. Garrett devoted his life to the abolitionist cause, openly defying slave hunters, as well as the slave system.</p>
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
100 in. (274.32 cm.)
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Bronze; Stone base
Bibliographic Citation
A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible.
<p>Chiodo, Mario. “Unwavering Courage in the Pursuit of Freedom.” Freedom March of Art. Accessed March 18, 2018, <a href="http://www.freedommarchofart.com/tubman.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">www.freedommarchofart.com/tubman.html</a>.</p>
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Renée Ater
Relation
A related resource
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9jP20hvR-M" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“Connecting Humanity During Disconnected Times,” Mario Chiodo at TEDx Napa Valley, December 19, 2012</a>
References
A related resource that is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the described resource.
<a href="https://www.slaverymonuments.org/exhibits/show/commemorating-harriet-tubman" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Monument and Myth: Commemorating Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad</a>
abolitionist
anti-slavery
Delaware
Harriet Tubman
Mario Chiodo
Thomas Garrett
Underground Railroad
-
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/2fb45a4dc4bf9e2f72fa32f1f6671afe.jpg
fa2fbc2367e5dc1c0cb85b9eb4aeb8a8
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/d78ea280aa57d9483d297e340fbf2d18.jpg
3ce29e611b7f899c2122af635cd94afb
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/a74ac4e480dc7aa31a25b3f3daf302cb.jpg
974764c396fc8a43bb039c3e0c25e349
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/e0db94133a77b00d1f1b265ef4fc077e.jpg
e1efef2ce6421ef0f142487f3e2ab24e
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/b8521d117e486a4fe222f844834d2f35.jpg
cac98c0b79b1dc6a667c9a702493a945
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/37f33db4d6374401ddd6d3d2a722b819.jpg
88b279e1cad466be1883c299178974e7
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/3245c65cd5893d3de984d89a9dda55ed.jpg
6b648c5a4fdd13be74e1655c64ffcaad
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/6dd434258e5a448b8524933f867546dd.jpg
32b795b192c6f38650d1d5a76ef4d849
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/f0557c184a54ce6987aedc082bd64e36.jpg
f3d9a258a971a20bccf03cdec3c5585f
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/5b68428b4495e7c8e2cf32b9848d655b.jpg
972c74e428a5a0b9c5754fba38d10507
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/174da4116b7a5f3aea2c85b1aaba2f54.jpg
f9b691763f693259e58ee14750afc172
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/3dc60b545d7e7b5944bb848ba99a9785.jpg
41b5ad0c1e8b7cb0fadab18ed024d17b
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/4bcc0a84efd1a34820b0c72a0fc39fed.jpg
35f791729be30ca5c1640bc5c231915a
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/42a37d330cd2af353a62027e9b1ca164.jpg
ca434c23e6fe9d9c731cf2321a816719
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/a22e8a2cea6a2a55e905912c037bbca8.jpg
527b15507ff2212b854d46d44925da6f
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/028c3c0a4edcb734546d6450550f1981.jpg
d5e17943fce54080c88948e6d493aed8
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/b88c155bb0ac95cceb1c7ad4a9e224ba.jpg
c1a7d9c310813414cbbb2604d3455dfa
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/7da5403e027977e6d2e11abb964397f6.jpg
117bce96b0b3a9bcd621b3dff5bf92f6
https://slaverymonuments.org/files/original/2396f8b4b101ff0a40ffcbcec859443e.jpg
83933aa4ac9f195de004e4ce9ea830a1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Cemeteries and Memorial Parks
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Renée Ater
Description
An account of the resource
<div style="padding-right: 30%;">
<p>This collection is just a fraction of the burial sites dedicated to enslaved persons, "<a href="https://www.ncpedia.org/contrabands" target="_blank" rel="noopener">contrabands</a>," and freed persons. Many of these cemeteries and memorial parks have suffered greatly over the years--some have been desecrated and destroyed while others have been long ignored and fallen into disrepair. The monuments and memorials in this collection are part of local efforts to restore and recognize the importance of black life in death, including the <a href="https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1130" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Freedman's Cemetery Memorial</a> in Dallas, Texas, and the <a href="https://www.slaverymonuments.org/items/show/1128" target="_blank" rel="noopener">African Burying Ground Memorial</a> in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.</p>
<p><strong>Further reading:</strong></p>
<p>Seth Freed Wesler, "Black Deaths Matter," The Nation, October 15, 2015, <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/black-deaths-matter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/black-deaths-matter/</a>.</p>
</div>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Written by Renée Ater
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Sculpture
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image
216 in. (548.64 cm.)
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
<i>The Path of Thorns and Roses </i>(Contraband and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial, Alexandria, VA)<i><br /></i>
Subject
The topic of the resource
Subject (Topic) <br />African Americans--Virginia<br />Alexandria (Va.)--History<br />American South<br />Cemeteries--Virginia<br />Freedmen--Virginia<br />Fugitive slaves--United States <br />Public art <br />Public sculpture
<p>Subject (Object Type) <br />Commemorative sculpture</p>
Description
An account of the resource
<p><em>The Path of Thorns and Roses</em> is an 18-foot high sculpture that spirals upwards and includes six allegorial figures: Oppression (a semi-nude male figure), Struggle (a semi-nude male figure at the base of the sculpture), Sacrifice (a woman who grasps the limp body of a child), Loss (a woman enfolded onto herself), and Compassion (a woman holding a baby and reaching towards Loss). Hope, a man with a bald head, stands on his toes within a large circle of thorns. The figure of Hope holds an unbloomed rose in his outstretched hands. Alongside the statue is a four-walled structure, “The Place of Remembrance,” the includes the names of individuals interred at the site as well as historical information on African Americans in Alexandria during the Civil War. Limestone blocks mark individual graves.</p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Chiodo, Mario, 1961-
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Photographs by Renée Ater
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Dedication: September 6, 2014
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
C. J. Howard, RA (original design); Joanna Blake (sculptor, bas-reliefs); AECOM (formerly EDAW); Howard + Revis Design; City of Alexandria; Friends of Freedmen's Cemetery; and Alexandria Commission for the Arts.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
City of Alexandria, Alexandria City Hall, 301 King Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314, United States
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
JPEG
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Visual Arts-Sculpture
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
216 in. (548.64 cm.)
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Bronze; Granite; Red sandstone
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
Design Competition: 2008
Bibliographic Citation
A bibliographic reference for the resource. Recommended practice is to include sufficient bibliographic detail to identify the resource as unambiguously as possible.
<p>“Contrabands & Freedmen Cemetery Memorial.” City of Alexandria Virginia. February 2, 2018. Accessed March 21, 2018. <a href="https://www.alexandriava.gov/FreedmenMemorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.alexandriava.gov/FreedmenMemorial</a>.</p>
<p>“Forgotten Cemetery for Freed Slaves Rediscovered.” CBS Evening News. September 10, 2014. Accessed March 21, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pK4e8daKPc.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pK4e8daKPc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pK4e8daKPc</a></p>
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1001 S. Washington Street, Alexandria, Virginia, 22314, United States
Alternative Title
An alternative name for the resource. The distinction between titles and alternative titles is application-specific.
<i>Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial</i>
Relation
A related resource
<a href="https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7943747,-77.0493801,3a,90y,43.15h,89.8t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOKqUR1lTAjAOfveVbI8WWlG-GgEXeYXNq5ZOSA!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOKqUR1lTAjAOfveVbI8WWlG-GgEXeYXNq5ZOSA%3Dw234-h106-k-no-pi-0-ya0-ro-0-fo100!7i10872!8i5436" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Virtual Tour of Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery Memorial on Google 360 virtual tours</a>
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Renée Ater
Has Part
A related resource that is included either physically or logically in the described resource.
<p><em><strong>Bronze plaque on base of sculpture:</strong> </em><br /><i>The Path of Thorns and Roses</i>. Created and sculpted by Mario Chido, 2013. Public art owned by the City of Alexandria, Virginia. Cast by Mussi Artworks Foundry, California.</p>
<p><em><strong>Engraving on base of sculpture:</strong></em> <br />“I am thankful there is a beginning. I am full of hope for tomorrow. 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</p>
<p><em><strong>Inset brick with bronze lettering on plaza:</strong></em><br />1955 Gas Station. Under this plaza is the concrete floor of a gas station, the construction of which desecrated many graves. The flooring was kept in place to protect the graves that remain below.</p>
<p><em><strong>Text from Wall One of "The Place of Remembrance"</strong></em><strong>:<br /></strong>Welcome to Contrabands and Freemen Cemetery Memorial <br /><br />During the Civil War, Alexandria’s population swelled with more than 20,000 enslaved African Americans fleeing Confederate territory for safety behind Union lines. Initially called Contrabands because they were considered “property” taken during wartime, they would later be called Freedmen. The new arrivals joined Alexandria’s free and enslaved African Americans, hoping to find jobs, homes, educational opportunities, and lost family. They also found deplorable living conditions and a raging smallpox epidemic. Many people died just as freedom came within reach. <br /><br />The federal government established a cemetery for the dead here in 1864. A formal record documents the burials for 1,711 individuals through January 1869 when the government abandoned the cemetery. The community of Freedmen was left the task of maintenance, and may have continued using the burial ground well after it closed. Over time, its wooden grave markers deteriorated, and the cemetery suffered many desecrations. An adjacent brick manufactory excavated clay, exposing bones and coffins. The paving of Washington Street covered and disturbed graves and the development of a gas station, the Beltway, and an office building destroyed hundreds more. <br /><br />Locations of many of the surviving graves remain unidentified but more than 540 have been found by archaeologists and given markers. Though individuals can no longer be linked to burial plots, the names of those buried in this cemetery survive. They are inscribed here, along with ages, dates, and places of death, and notes left by the record-keeper. Today, visitors to the cemetery memorial join descendants of the Contrabands and Freedman in honoring the memorial of these freedom seekers.<br /><br />Individuals for whom living descendants have been identified are noted with this marker.<br /><br /><em>[The following text appears above the bronze plaques with the names of those buried at the site.]</em><br /><br />In Alexandria’s first known civil rights protest,… members of the United States Colored Troops signed a petition requesting that black soldiers be buried alongside their white comrades in arms at the nearby military cemetery. Some Authors fought their request and, in one instance, the caisson of a USCT soldier en route to the military cemetery was forcibly re-routed to his cemetery. Still, the soldiers won their battle, and in January 1865, caskets of over a hundred USCT soldiers were disinterred from this burial ground and moved to Alexandria’s National Cemetery where they are recognized by stone markers today. Their names are listed below.</p>
<p><em><strong>Text from Wall Two of "The Place of Remembrance":</strong></em><br />[<em>The following text appears below an 1865 grid street plan of Alexandria</em>] <br /><br />The City
<br />The Freedom seekers who arrived in Alexandria joined a large existing community of African Americans, including many free and enslaved individuals. These residents, new and old, helped to shape the city, establishing neighborhoods, and founding churches and schools. They also went to work on the railroads, at the wharves, in factories and small businesses, at hospitals and army encampments, and in their homes. <br /><br />Freedmen’s Cemetery <br />This burial ground for African Americans was established by the federal government on the outskirts of town, on land owned by Francis Smith, Robert E. Lee’s attorney.<br /><br />Soldiers Cemetery<br />Injured soldiers of the US Colored Troops convalescing at L’Ouverture Hospital successfully petitioned for the right to a burial alongside their white comrades at this military cemetery. <br /><br />Slave Jail and L’Ouverture Hospital <br />The Price Birch and Co. slave jail at 1315 Duke Street was once the last stop for thousands of slaves sold south to a life of extreme hardship. The Union army commandeered the property as a jail. In 1804, a hospital was built nearby that treated African American soldiers and civilians for diseases like tuberculosis and typhoid, Shiloh Baptist Church congregation formed here.<br /><br />Contraband Barracks and School <br />Some Freedmen found housing in crowded barracks like those on Prince Street. Despite the difficult conditions. Freedmen attended a school established at the barracks.<br /><br />African American Schools<br />Deprived of an education by slavery, Contraband and Freedmen seized the opportunity to learn. Adults and children alike filled Contraband schools across the city learning for the first time to read and write.<br /><br />African American Neighborhoods <br />While some of those arriving in Alexandria settled into established free black neighborhoods such as Hayti and the Bottoms, most camped out in deserted buildings or on marginal land, often constructing their own huts and shacks. These crowded settlements eventually became new African American neighborhoods such as Cross-Canal, Petersburg, and Grantville.<br /><br />African American Churches <br />Places of gathering, faith, aid, and activism, Alexandria’s black churches were critical to the Contraband and Freedmen community. Many of Alexandria’s present-day congregations began meeting during the war. <br /><br />Railroads<br />Alexandria’s strategic location where railroads met waterways made it a center of supply for the Union army. Rails also transported soldiers to the front and brought back the wounded to Alexandria’s hospital. Many Freedmen became railroad workers helping to keep goods and personnel moving. <br /><br />Wharves <br />Many Contrabands and Freemen worked on the waterfront, processing, loading, and unloading goods coming in on ships and by rail. These laborers kept a steady stream of food and supplies flowing to the Union army.<br /><br />[<em>The following text appears below a bas-relief of enslaved people escaping bondage</em>] <br /><br />Fleeing slavery for sanctuary and freedom in Alexandria<br /><br />When Virginia seceded in May of 1861, Union troops occupied Alexandria and turned the port town into a staging area and base for operation. It also became a beacon for freedom seekers who took the opportunity war provided to escape enslavement. Thousands of fleeing African Americans made the dangerous and difficult journey through Confederate territory, often traveling on foot, some coming from hundreds of miles away. They arrived in Alexandria hungry, tired, and with few resources, and began searching our food, clothing shelter, medical treatment, and education. <br /><br /><em>[The following quote appears to the right of the bas-relief.]</em><br /><br />“I traveled 65 miles and we had 52 on our number before, we crost, the river…we tought, we wold, be taken eny moment, the babys cried, and we could whear, the sound of them. On the warter. We lay all night in the woods, and next day we traveled on and we reached, Suffolk that night and we lost twenty one of the Number.” —Emma Bynum, a freedwoman describing her flights to freedmen in a composition for her schoolteacher, Miss Lucy Chase</p>
<p><em><strong>Text from Wall Three of "The Place of Remembrance":</strong></em><br /><em>[The following text appears below a bas-relief of a school teacher surrounded by her students</em>.]<br /><br />Learning to read at an Alexandria freedmen’s school<br /><br />Overwhelmed by their numbers, Alexandria could offer little aid to the newly arrived Contrabands. Some took up residence in temporary barracks created near the site of a former slave jail. Others found shelter in free black neighborhoods or in abandoned buildings and shanties. Social workers like Julia Wilbur, a white Quaker from New York, and Harriet Jacobs, a black freedwoman, responded to the need by gathering supplies, attending to medical problems, and setting up school and other community services. Despite their efforts, many particularly children, died from exposure or disease. Still, the freed people worked tirelessly to create new lives, and in the process, reshaped the city of Alexandria.” <br /><br /><em>[The following quote appears to the right of the bas-relief.]</em> <br /><br />“Besides the school in the barracks there are our others in the city, which are self-sustaining, one containing one hundred and fifty pupils, It is an astonishing fact, which ought to be placed upon record…that out of the two thousand people collected at Alexandria there are four hundred children sent daily to school. The first demand of these fugitives when they come into this place is that their children may go to school.” —Harriet Jacobs, freedwoman, educator, and aid worker in Alexandria, April 29, 1863<br /><br />[<em>The following text appears below an aerial map of the cemetery</em>] <br /><br />The Site:<br />The cemetery was established in 1864 and officially closed in 1869. Burials probably continued after this time, even as the wooden grave markers from the Civil War era deteriorated. Over the next century, this site endured many intrusions, and no longer appeared to be a sacred place. This site map identified features uncovered by historical and archaeological research, as well as desecrations, that occurred through the 1990s.”<br /><br />1) Memorial Fence: Today, a steel fence evokes the wooden picket fence that once encircled the cemetery. The historic boundary is unknown, but likely included additional land that was paved over during the construction of South Washington Street.<br /><br />2) Carriage Path: Carts carrying the dead entered the cemetery along this route.<br /><br />3) Grave Shafts: Archaeology has identified more than 540 of the 1,711 burials believed to be present on site. Although no graves or artifacts were disturbed, the study revealed evidence of prior destruction caused by development of the site.<br /><br />4) American Indian Site: Thousands of stone artifacts were discovered during archaeological investigations, including a 13,000 year old Clovis spear point. These finds suggest that American Indians periodically visited this bluff overlooking Hunting Creek for millennia to manufacture tools for hunting, scraping, hides, and other activities.<br /><br />5) United States Colored Troops Section: As a result of a successful protest by USCT to be buried with full honors alongside their white comrades, the caskets of USCT were moved from a section of the cemetery to the nearby military cemetery in 1805.<br /><br />6) Brickyard: Clay excavations may have occurred on the western edge of the cemetery, resulting in the desecration of graves, as noted by an 1892 <em>Washington Post</em> article: Of late the owners have been allowing the neighboring brickyard to dig clay from the outer edges of the graveyard with which to make brick. This digging has resulted in the unearthing of many coffins and skeletons, leaving the outer graves in very bad condition.<br /><br />7) Gas Station: The current memorial plaza is built atop the floor and foundations of a service station built in 1955.<br /><br />8) Office Building: The slab of a 1960 office building was covered during the memorial’s construction to protect the graves presumed to be below. A reconstruction portion of the building can still be seen on Church Street. Two stone Markers located the southernmost corners of the building.</p>
<p><em><strong>Text from Wall Four of “The Place of Remembrance”:</strong></em><strong></strong><br />“I have just witnessed a novel and solemn scene, a funeral in the open air. The deceased, Peter Washington, was an old man, and a slave until the breaking out of the war… After the signing and a prayer, a minister, an early associate of the deceased gave a brief sketch of the life of Peter Washington. He had eight children; in one day he was bereft of his six daughters and five grandchildren. ‘On that day’ said the minister, ‘he leant on me, and with a bursting heart exclaimed, “If it were not my hope in Christ, I could not bear up under this trial.”’ [M]any of his hearers seemed to find an echo to a like experience in their own souls, They swayed their forms, and moaned as if some wound of the past was being dressily probed. No child of his came to bid him a last farewell, they are scattered I know not where: his two sons are in the army battling for the country their father loved inspite of her persecutions to him and his.” —Harriet Jacobs, freedwoman, educator, and aid worker in Alexandria, describing the funeral of Peter Washington, buried here May 32, 1864</p>
<p><em><strong>Text from grave marker:</strong></em><br />Many of the African Americans who fled to Alexandria to escape enslavement and those already living here succumbed to disease and deprivation during and shortly after the Civil War. Carts bearing the dead entered the cemetery along a path in this location. Stones mark the locations of more than 540 graves identified by archaeologists and now protected by the memorial. According to historic records, the cemetery once held nearly 1,200 additional graves, many of which were destroyed by buildings and roads. Of the people laid to rest here, over half were children under the age of sixteen.</p>
archaeology
black cemetery
Civil War
contrabands
freedmen
Mario Chiodo
slavery
Virginia