Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause

by Ty Seidule

The story of how Alexandria went from a part of the District of Columbia back to Virginia reveals its racial history.11 In September 1846, white Alexandrians celebrated the results of a referendum to leave the District of Columbia and return to Virginia, a process called retrocession. After announcing the vote, 763 for retrocession and 222 against, the crowd exploded “with the loudest cheers and a salvo from the artillery.” Nothing like a cannonade to punctuate a celebration. Then “the young folks lighted torches” and carried “flags, banners, and transparencies,” while “firearms … were discharged, rockets, squips and crackers were let off, and general joy and enthusiasm prevailed.” Finally, “the crowd formed in procession” and crossed “the old line that used to divide us from Virginia” so they could fire “upon the soil of our State … a National Salute of RETROCESSION.