"It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here so nobly advanced."
- Abraham Lincoln The Gettysburg Address
In Service to the Country

Students will discover the historical and geographical context that caused the City of Alexandria, Virginia to become home to one of the first national cemeteries.

NCSS Themes:
People, Places, and Environments; Civic Ideals and Practices

In Service to the Country
Fighting Side by Side

Students will learn the story of one of the United States’ first civil rights actions, an 1864 United States Colored Troops’ petition to be buried in Alexandria National Cemetery.

NCSS Themes:
Culture; Power, Authority, and Governance; Civic Ideals and Practices

Fighting Side by Side
A Sad and Terrible Disaster

Students will uncover the fate of four men linked to the manhunt for John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln’s assassin.

NCSS Themes:
Civic Ideals and Practices

A Sad and Terrible Disaster
In the Spirit of Fraternity

Students will explore the history behind the removal of Confederate war dead from Alexandria National Cemetery.

NCSS Themes:
Culture; Civic Ideals and Practices

In the Spirit of Fraternity
Before Rosie the Riveter

Students will compare and contrast the memorialization of women and recognition of their military service from the Civil War to the present day.

NCSS Themes:
Culture; Power, Authority, and Governance; Civic Ideals and Practices

Before Rosie the Riveter