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George Washington Chapter
Sons of the American Revolution
              Virginia Society

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Recognized as Best Virginia SAR Website

2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023


Not listed on memorial marker:

Robert Townsend Hooe, Member, Maryland Constitutional Convention 1774-76; born 1743; died March 16, 1809


Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery Memorial

Location:

Saint Mary's Catholic Cemetery

1000 S Royal St.
Alexandria, VA 22314

GPS Coordinates: 38.794656 / -77.048423

Honors:

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.

In this cemetery rest the earthly remains of Patriots of the Revolutionary War who fought for the cause of liberty. 

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

Robert Townsend Hooe, Member, Maryland Constitutional Convention 1774-76; born 1743; died March 16, 1809

Saint Mary's Catholic Church and the Students of Saint Mary's Catholic School 
and
The George Washington Chapter, Virginia Society Sons of the American Revolution 
dedicate this marker as a memorial to these Patriots.

2015

Sons of the American Revolution
Virginia SAR
George Washington Chapter
©2024

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