Fort Ward's Lost Graves: Who speaks for the dead? Julia Randle

Fort Ward's Lost Graves: Who speaks for the dead? 

Julia Randle

Julia Randle, archivist at Virginia Theological Seminary’s Bishop Payne Library, where the [Fort Ward History Workgroup] meeting was held, said that the findings should have a huge impact on Alexandria citizens, particularly the black community.

“Alexandria, historically, has focused on it being the colonial port and the home of George Washington and this place that was occupied throughout the Civil War,” Randle said.  “But throughout it’s whole history, it wasn’t just white guys doing things.  It wasn’t just a white community.  It had a large African American community and history that went to put together everything that is Alexandria.”

“We are a community not just of white Southerners, we are a community of people, who are black and white and everything in between,” Randle said.  “The significance to the community of Alexandria is the inclusion of the whole community and telling the whole story.”

Julia Randle, Registrar and Historiographer at Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, February 6, 2011 from "Archaeological Study Reveals Significant Finds At Fort Ward"

By Haley Crum