Fort Ward’s residents’ journey from Civil War to civil rights - The Washington Post: Walk through the 34 acres of Fort Ward Park in Alexandria’s West End and beneath the drying late-summer grasses and moss-laden trees lies some of the most overlooked history in this famously history-proud town.
The remains of the Civil War fort, an important Union outpost, are well-marked and documented. But less is known about the African American residents who, starting in the 1880s, bought land, built homes, raised their children and buried their dead there.
After a half-century of neglect, the city government is moving toward formal recognition of those who bridged the period between the Civil War and the modern civil rights era. A three-year archaeological investigation found 40 unmarked graves, the city announced last week, as well as 25 sites detailing life in the neighborhood known as The Fort or Seminary.
A handsome brochure was published two months ago, oral histories have been collected and posted online, and a new series of historical markers that tell the African American story is expected to be erected within weeks. The creation of a plan to control the future of the park is next on the city’s agenda.
