Arlington National Cemetery Sits on Once Bustling Freedmans Village, Where Newly Freed Slaves Lived

Arlington Cemetery sits on the what was once the bustling Freedmans Village, a city where newly freed slaves lived.

Until today, I had never heard of Freedman's Village, which was located across the Potomac River, on the land where the Arlington National Cemetery is today. It was once a city where newly freed slaves lived during and following the Civil War. The Freedmans Village at Arlington was established in May 1863, and was dedicated December 4, 1863. The U.S. Supreme Court closed Freedmans Village in 1882 and the federal government later obtained the rights to the land, it was later given to the military, which meant the residents had to leave. On December 7, 1887, the people at the village were given 90 days to leave.

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Arlington Charter buses roll up to Arlington National Cemetery every day, depositing tourists who scramble uphill to see the eternal flame on President John F. Kennedy's grave. People stream in all directions, toward the Tomb of the Unknowns or to remember at tombstones of loved ones lost to war.

Few, however, head downhill to a quiet corner near the Iwo Jima Memorial. Down here, there are no memorials to ancient battles, no ornate headstones honoring long-dead dignitaries. There are only rows of small unassuming white tombstones, many engraved with names like George, Toby and Rose. They are the only visible reminders that part of the nation's most storied burial ground sits atop what used to be a thriving black town -- "Freedman's Village," built on land confiscated from Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.

Arlington National Cemetery was established on land confiscated from Lee and his family in 1861 after the general took command of the Confederate forces. The Civil War leaders of the Union buried soldiers' bodies on the property in hopes that Lee would never want to return, and Parks' ancestor dug the very first grave near the Freedman's Village burial site.

The federal government turned some land about a half-mile north of Lee's mansion into a town specifically for freed slaves who had nowhere to go. At its height, more than 1,100 former slaves lived in a collection of 50 1½-story duplexes surrounding a central pond.

It is amazing that the Freedmans Village played such a pivotal role in the lives of blacks and many prominent government workers visited the village when it first began. Sojourner Truth was appointed by the National Freedman's Relief Association to work at the Freedmans Village. She counseled, preached, helped people get jobs, and helped them resettle in the North. The area became a bustling village with the establishment of schools, training centers, homes, hospitals, churches and farms. It is ironic that such innovation took place in those days, when the freed slaves wanted to learn new trades to become blacksmiths, wheelwrights, carpenters, shoemakers and tailors. Today, the school statistics are very shocking. The drop-out rates of blacks, particularly males, are very high. The same holds true for the recession which has adversely affected the black population. While Freedmans Village may be no more, we can learn some valuable lessons from our ancestors. They were innovative and determined people who literally reached for the skies and many succeeded against the odds. We need to capture that very essence.

Read more:  Emancipation at Arlington: Freedman's Village, 1863