Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

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 in Virginia 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. 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.

Madeline Feierstein is an Alexandria, VA historian and founder of the educational & historical consulting company Rooted in Place, LLC. A native of Washington, D.C., her work has been showcased across the Capital Region. A member of Emerging Civil War, Madeline has also written for Emerging Revolutionary War, Civil War Monitor, and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. She leads significant projects on the history of hospitals, prisons, and wartime America. Her first book, Occupied Alexandria: How the Civil War Transformed a Southern City, was published in 2026 and she is currently working on a biography of Civil War surgeon Dr. Edwin Bentley. Madeline holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology from George Mason University and a Master’s in American History from Southern New Hampshire University. Explore her research and book a guided tour at www.madelinefeierstein.com.