Please join us:

Mary Lipsey presents "Civil War Cemeteries in Fairfax County and Nearby Areas"

Great Falls Historical Society Event

November 7, 2019

Great Falls Library

7:00 pm

Honoring those who died during the Civil War.

The unprecedented number of deaths of soldiers resulted in efforts to respect and honor the men, who had died far from home. Thousands of known and unknown were hastily buried in shallow graves on the battlefields. In July 1862, the US Congress authorized President Lincoln to purchase land for the establishment of cemeteries for those who died fighting in behalf of the US. As a result, fourteen national cemeteries were created.  In 1864, Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs established Arlington National Cemetery on the Custis- Lee Mansion property. Through the years, governments and communities have established cemeteries to honor both Union and Confederate soldiers. Mary Lipsey will share the stories about the cemeteries that were established in Fairfax County and nearby areas.

Mary Buckingham Lipsey was born in Atlanta and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia. She received a B.A. in History and Sociology from Mary Washington College and a Masters in Middle School Education from Virginia Tech. In June 2003, Mary retired after teaching seventh grade American History for almost thirty years.

Mary has been a volunteer docent for the American History Museum of the Smithsonian since 1980 and for the National Archives since 2004. She is a member of the Fairfax County History Commission. Her interest in history has found an outlet through researching, writing and speaking to community groups. Her research has resulted in her writing three books.

Mary's published works: co-author of Braddock's True Gold- 20^th Century Life in the Heartof Fairfax County (2006) author of A Christmas Flight: Aviation Pioneer, Dr, William Christmas (2013) author of Aviation:From Curiosity To Reality (2018)

Past Events:

If you missed the October 8th presentation by Carole Herrick you can watch the video here: