Skip to main content
RETURN TO Return to WETA website Donate
Boundary Stones logo

Main navigation

  • Washington, D.C.
  • Maryland
  • Virginia
  • Video
  • About
Virginia

The Less-Known Unknown

11/13/2012 in Virginia by Will Hughes
  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolutionary War. (Photo by James A. DeYoung/Alexandria City website)
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolutionary War. (Photo by James A. DeYoung/Alexandria City website)

 

Yesterday, we posted a story about the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington National Cemetery in 1921. Most readers are probably familiar with that memorial (and, if they read our post, they now know a little about its history). It is, after all, one of the most sacred places in the country.

 

But, what you may not know is that there is another Tomb of the Unknown just down the road in Alexandria, Virginia. In the burial yard of the Old Presbyterian Meeting House at 323 South Fairfax Street lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution. It is just seven miles away from its more famous counterpart, but light-years apart in the amount of attention it receives.

In seems this grave has always been kind of overshadowed.

In 1826, the remains of an unknown man buried in a Revolutionary uniform were unearthed as the sanctuary of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church (next door to the Old Presbyterian Meeting House) was undergoing an expansion.[1] The soldier was reburied in the Meeting House burial ground but for years the grave remained unmarked, living on only in the memory of members of the congregation, who occasionally placed flowers on the spot to recognize the unknown soldier.

The 1920’s saw a renewed interest preserving the nation’s colonial history (this biggest example being the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg). During this same period, nations across the world were dedicating memorials to their unknown dead from the First World War. The Daughters of the American Revolution took up the cause of the nameless Revolutionary soldier in Alexandria. After the city helped the Meeting House undergo a preservation project in 1925, attention turned to the gravesite of the unknown man.[2]

On February 22, 1928 (George Washington’s birthday), a temporary marker was placed on the gravesite. A year later, on April 19, 1929, (not coincidentally Lexington-Concord Day), the current table-top memorial was formally dedicated at a service attended by members of the Old Meeting House, local citizens, representatives of the Children of the American Revolution, and by the Secretary of War, James W. Good. An Army band was accompanied by the church organ for a rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” and the epitaph that now adorns the stone was read aloud by Secretary Good.[3]

Here lies a soldier of the Revolution whose identity is known but to God. His was an idealism that recognized a Supreme Being, that planted religious liberty on our shores, that overthrew despotism, that established a people’s government, that wrote a Constitution setting metes and bounds of delegated authority, that fixed a standard of value upon men above gold and lifted high the torch of civil liberty along the pathway of mankind. In ourselves his soul exists as part of ours, his memory’s mansion.[4]

The Tomb of the Unknown Revolutionary War Soldier looks much like some of the other stone markers in the burial yard. At first glance, only the wrought-iron fence around it distinguishes the memorial from the others, with the occasional flag or wreath left by one of its few visitors adding color to the scene. It is a remarkably different scene from the one that visitors see every day at the more famous tomb in Arlington, but its purpose and function is no less important as a local reminder of the sacrifices that our original veterans made to secure the freedoms that we now enjoy.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Lancette, Christopher. “The Unknown Revolutionary” American Legion Magazine (July 2010) pp. 48-49
  2. ^ Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution: Old Presbyterian Meeting House. Print.
  3. ^ “Good Dedicated Shaft to Soldier of 1776,” The New York Times. April 20, 1929 (accessed 11/12/2012 on ProQuest Historical Newspapers)
  4. ^ Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the American Revolution: Old Presbyterian Meeting House. Print.
Last Updated:
10/14/2020

About the Author

More posts by Will Hughes »
Tags
Revolutionary War
Alexandria
1920s

Share

  • Share by Facebook
  • Share by Twitter
  • Share by Email

You Might Also Like

  • The Black Cone of Death

    The Black Cone of Death

    On November 17, 1927 one of the fiercest twisters our area has ever seen touched down near Old Town Alexandria.

  • Origins of the George Washington Memorial Parkway

    Origins of the George Washington Memorial Parkway

    Thousands of people drive on it everyday, but sometimes we forget that the George Washington Memorial Parkway is not just a road into Washington, D.C.

  • Civil War Alexandria Through the Eyes of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire

    Civil War Alexandria Through the Eyes of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire

    Judith Brockenbrough McGuire kept a diary and detailed the changes she saw in her hometown of Alexandria, Virginia at the start of the Civil War.

Surprise Me!

Not sure where to start reading? Let us pick a story for you!

Categories

  • DC (565)
  • Maryland (106)
  • Virginia (146)

Latest Posts

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

03/17/2023

"DC" Really Stands for Demon Cat... Which Haunts the U.S. Capitol

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

03/10/2023

From the Mixed-Up Files of the Smithsonian Museum of American History: The Heist of 1981

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

03/03/2023

The "Capitalsaurus": How a Dinosaur That Never Existed Became an Official Mascot of D.C.

Most Popular

How the B&O Railroad Almost Gave Kensington, Maryland its Name

09/23/2022

How the B&O Railroad Almost Gave Kensington, Maryland its Name

Encore: How the Tivoli became the Epicenter of a Debate over Urban Renewal

07/27/2022

Encore: How the Tivoli became the Epicenter of a Debate over Urban Renewal

Mighty Yet Stubby: A Four-Legged War Hero Takes D.C. By Storm

08/09/2022

Mighty Yet Stubby: A Four-Legged War Hero Takes D.C. By Storm

Tags

1860s1870s1890s1900s1910s1920s1930s1940s1950s1960s1970s1980s1990sAlexandriaArlingtonBlack HistoryBygone DCCivil WarGeorgetownMusic HistorySports HistoryWhite HouseWomen's HistoryWorld War IWorld War II
More
Historical D.C. Metro Map
Tweets by BoundaryStones
WETA

Footer menu

  • Support WETA
  • About WETA
  • Press Room
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • RSS
  • Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 3939 Campbell Avenue
    Arlington, VA 22206 | Map
  • 703-998-2600
  • boundarystones@weta.org

Connect with us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

About Boundary Stones

Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

DONATE

Copyright © 2023 WETA. All Rights Reserved.

Bottom Footer

  • Terms
  • Privacy
  • Guidelines