Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery Memorial
Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery 1000 S Royal St. GPS Coordinates: 38.794656 / -77.048423Honors:The George Washington Chapter teamed with the Saint Mary’s Catholic Church and the Saint Mary’s Catholic School to honor five patriots known to be buried at Saint Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Alexandria. The George Washington Chapter continues to develop a biography for each individual in the SAR Patriot Research System (PRS) and commemorates with SAR grave markers. Additional markers from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) are also located at many of the gravestones. Plan your visit:Located as part of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. Visitation to the cemetery is unrestricted. Street parking is nearby. Acknowledgement:The George Washington Chapter is not involved in funding or maintaining the cemetery annually. Memorial Marker Sᴀɪɴᴛ Mᴀʀʏ's Cᴀᴛʜᴏʟɪᴄ Cᴇᴍᴇᴛᴇʀʏ Saint Mary's Catholic Church was established in 1795 and is the oldest Catholic parish in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Saint Mary's Cemetery is likewise the oldest public Catholic Cemetery in Virginia and the oldest active cemetery in Alexandria. The cemetery dates to 1795, and parish records indicate that William Thorton Alexander deeded the land to Saint Mary's in 1803. Construction of Saint Mary's Church, originally a chapel located within the existing cemetery, was funded through a subscription undertaken by Colonel John Fitzgerald. Colonel Fitzgerald emigrated from Ireland and achieved prominence at a time when Catholicism was neither prevalent nor widely regarded in the Commonwealth, managing a mercantile business in Alexandria and becoming a major in the 3rd Virginia Regiment in 1776 during the American Revolution. He joined General George Washington's as Aide de Camp in November 1776, was on the battlefield in Princeton, New Jersey, on January 3, 1777, when American forces defeated the British Army, encamped at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, in December 1777, and was wounded in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse, New Jersey, on June 28, 1778. He thereafter retired from the military and returned to Alexandria, becoming Mayor in 1783. Colonel Fitzgerald's friendship with General Washington continued after the Revolution and, upon Colonel Fitzgerald's taking up the subscription for Saint Mary's, General Washington made the first donation. The precise location of Colonel Fitzgerald's grave is unknown and it may be here in Saint Mary's Cemetery or across the Potomac River in Maryland on land he owned there. Francis Ignatius Hagen, 3d Virginia Regiment; enlisted 1777; born about 1754; died December 15, 1830 Lawrence Hurdle, Private, Maryland Line; served 1776-1782; born about 1750; died December 1, 1848 Pierre La Croix, served in French and Indian War and American Revolutionary; born about 1742; died September 22, 1830 Francis Murphy, Pennsylvania Militia; enlisted 1777; born about 1763; died June 30, 1837 John Riordan, 3d New Jersey Regiment; enlisted 1778; born about 1763; died October 10, 1803 Saint Mary's Catholic Church and the Students of Saint Mary's Catholic School
2015 | ![]() https://stmaryoldtown.org/from-the-archives-revolutionary-war-veterans-resting-in-saint-mary-cemetery/Dedication of Memorial Marker 07 Dec 2015 - St. Mary's Catholic Church Patriots From the Archives |