Christ Church (Alexandria, Virginia): Difference between revisions

The Anglican congregation that commissioned the church's construction was founded in 1765, when [[Fairfax Parish, Virginia|Fairfax Parish]] was established. The vestry commissioned the construction of two churches, this one, and [[the Falls Church|another]] at [[Falls Church, Virginia|Falls Church]]. The design of both buildings was by Colonel James Wren. The church is distinctive among Virginia's colonial churches in that its interior was spared the ravages of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Although, most of the tombstones and all the silver were missing when the Union troop holding the church returned it two years after the end of the war. The church also survived the disestablishment of the Church of England by the commonwealth.<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>

Among the burials in the churchyard is the mass grave of thirty-four [[Confederate States of America|Confederate]] [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] who died in local hospitals during the [[ Civil War]]. A memorial stone in the churchyard commemorates their deaths. Also buried in the church are Charles Simms and Philip Marstellar, two of George Washington's pallbearers, Anne Warren, a world-famous English actress, Henry Fowler, and William Ramsay, who is known as the Romulus of Alexandria.