2026-2027 Tour Schedule

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November 5, 2026: Maryland Philanthropic Educational Organization (Chapter B)

November 19, 2026: Hershey Civil War Roundtable

February 27, 2027: Potomac Regents' Club, Daughters of the American Revolution

February 28, 2027: Burke Historical Society

April 25, 2027: Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office

May 11, 2027: Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable

November 4, 2027: Chesapeake Civil War Roundtable

November 15, 2027: Greater Pittsburgh Civil War Roundtable

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The day after Virginia’s secession in May 1861, Union troops marched from Washington to occupy its neighbor Alexandria. A former powerhouse in the slave trade, Alexandria was the first Confederate city to be occupied during the Civil War and governed under strict martial law. Overnight, this bustling urban town on the Potomac River transformed into a center of disease, death, and debauchery.

 

Viewing all residents as potential threats regardless of allegiance, the military government resorted to heavy-handed actions to control its transient soldier population, counteract civilian opposition, combat waves of gunshot wounds and illness, and imprison those deemed disloyal to the Union cause. 

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Drawing upon true accounts of civilian and soldier experiences, historian Madeline Feierstein explores whether Union authorities kept order within the city or watched it fall into chaos.