Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,284. It is located on the west bank of the Potomac River, six miles south of downtown Washington, DC.

History

The City of Alexandria, first known as Belhaven, was named in honor of John Alexander, who in the last quarter of the 17th century had bought the land on which the city now stands from Robert Howison; the first settlement here was made in 1695. Alexandria was laid out in 1749 and was incorporated in 1779.

Related Topics:
17th century - 1695 - 1749 - 1779

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A portion of the City of Alexandria shares with all of today's Arlington County the distinction of having been originally in Virginia, ceded to the US government to form the District of Columbia, and later reattached to Virginia by the federal government in 1846 when the District was reduced in size to exclude the portion south of the Potomac River.

Related Topics:
Arlington County - District of Columbia - 1846 - Potomac River

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From 1790 until 1846 Alexandria County was a part of the District of Columbia; the City of Alexandria was re-chartered in 1852.

Related Topics:
1790 - 1846 - Alexandria County - District of Columbia - 1852

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The City of Alexandria became independent of Alexandria County in 1870. The remaining portion of Alexandria County changed its name to Arlington County in 1920, ending years of confusion.

Related Topics:
1870 - 1920

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See article on Arlington, Virginia for more information.

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In 1930, Alexandria annexed the Town of Potomac. That town, adjacent to Potomac Yard, had been laid out beginning in the late 19th century and incorporated in 1908.

Related Topics:
1930 - Potomac Yard - 19th century - 1908

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Revolutionary War

In 1755 General Edward Braddock organized his fatal expedition against Fort Duquesne at Alexandria, and here, in April of the same year, the governors of Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland met to determine upon concerted action against the French in America.

Related Topics:
1755 - Edward Braddock - Fort Duquesne - Virginia - Massachusetts - New York - Pennsylvania - Maryland - French

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In March 1785 commissioners from Virginia and Maryland met here to discuss the commercial relations of the two states, finishing their business at Mount Vernon on the 28th with an agreement for freedom of trade and freedom of navigation of the Potomac. The Maryland legislature in ratifying this agreement on November 22 proposed a conference between representatives from all the states to consider the adoption of definite commercial regulations. This led to the calling of the Annapolis convention of 1786, which in turn led to the calling of the Federal convention of 1787.

Related Topics:
1785 - Mount Vernon - November 22 - 1787

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During the War of 1812, Alexandria surrendered to a British fleet in 1814 without a fight. As agreed in the terms of surrender the British looted stores and warehouses of mainly flour, tobacco, cotton, wine and sugar http://oha.ci.alexandria.va.us/archaeology/decades/ar-decades-1810.html.

Related Topics:
War of 1812 - 1814 - Tobacco - Cotton - Wine - Sugar

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American Civil War

At the opening of the American Civil War the city was occupied by Federal troops until the end of the war making it the longest held city during the war. Great excitement throughout the North was caused by the killing (May 24, 1861) of Colonel E. E. Ellsworth (1837-1861) by Captain James W. Jackson, a hotel proprietor, from whose building Ellsworth had removed a Confederate flag. After the erection of the state of West Virginia in 1863, and until the close of the war, Alexandria was the seat of what was known as the "Alexandria Government."

Related Topics:
American Civil War - May 24 - 1861 - Hotel - Confederate flag - West Virginia - 1863

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