Congress' Cemetery a Century Ago

If Arlington can be said to have had any forerunner as the national cemetery for the Capital the role clearly belonged to Congressional Cemetery about a century ago.

That burial ground, strewn with graves of men once important in public life is still functioning, but its character has changed. It is now essentially a family cemetery, utilized mostly by the parish of Christ Episcopal Church, 620 G street S.E., which has controlled it since 1812. No Congressman has been interred there since 1864. It comes as something of a surprise to a visitor who enters by an iron gate at 1801 E street S.E., on which is written large the name Congressional Cemetery, to find the ledgers of Supt. William Heinline titled, "Washington Cemetery." Why this inconsistency?

The name is carried on the books of the church vestry as the Washington Parish Burial Ground, but the name Congressional Cemetery has persisted since the church set aside 100 burial sites specifically for members of Congress in 1817. Three years later burial privileges were extended to Government officials and their families. Still later gravesites were made available to foreign diplomats and their wives and to several famous Indian chieftains who died while representing their tribes in Washington.

Buried there are Elbridge Gerry, fifth Vice President of the United States; Tobias Lear, secretary and close friend to George Washington; William Wirt, Attorney General from 1817 to 1829; Justice Philip Pendleton Barbour of the Supreme Court and Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of State. The body of Dolly Madison was placed in a vault there in 1852, but was removed six years later to Virginia. George Clinton, fourth Vice President, was another for whom the Congressional was but a temporary resting place; his body was removed to New York.

Indeed, one of the cemetery's claims to fame is the fact that it is lined with tombstones to dead who aren't buried there. While such cenotaphs are not uncommon in private cemeteries, Congressional has an unusually large number of them in memory of historic Americans. The casual visitor notes such names, for example, as Henry Clay and John Calhoun on those markers. Neither is buried there, although a child of Clay's is.

The cenotaphs were ordered by Congress to honor deceased members buried elsewhere. The same type of monument, also rests atop the graves of members actually there. All together there are about 200 of these brown sandstone monuments, all identical in design.

The first member of Congress buried there was Senator Uriah Tracy of Connecticut, whose body was transferred from Rock Creek Cemetery in 1807. Until 1835 virtually every deceased Congressman was buried there, since the means of transportation at that time were limited and the cost of removing bodies to the State of residence was enormous. Thirty years from that time interments of non-resident Government officials had practically ceased.

Among the illustrious, one of the most recent burials was that of John Philip Sousa, the bandmaster, who died in 1932. Within a few paces is the grave of Herbert Lincoln Clarke, on whose stone is inscribed, "World's premier cornetist and bandmaster." The story is told that just before he died in 1945, Mr. Clarke asked that he be buried as close as possible to his good friend Sousa.

Going through the ledgers kept by Supt. Heinline, one is struck by the indications of heavy mortality among children up until about 45 years ago, and particularly noteworthy are the uncommon ailments that led to their demise.

Many, for instance, died of "water on the brain," a few from "summer complaint" and scarlet fever; one boy died "in fits" and another "while swelling." Among the adults there was a spate of dropsy cases, several died "in bilious," others had "jaunders" and it is clear that consumption, as tuberculosis was known then, was quite prevalent.

Congressional began very early in the 19th century, when a handful of men purchased about 4 1/2 acres because another nearby burial ground was too low and watery. They ran it until it was clear of debt, then transferred it to the vestry of Christ Church. It was added to in succeeding years, and today it comprises 30 acres. In the early days lots were priced at $2 to enable the poor to buy them. It was also provided that no "infidel" should be allowed burial.

Congress, from time to time, made minor appropriations to assist in the upkeep of the cemetery, but through the years some resentment has been expressed that it was not entirely living up to its responsibility. At present the Government, according to Mr. Heinline, does maintain its own grave area.

One grave is undistinguished by any headstone--in fact, is unidentifiable as a grave except that the grassy plot has sunk slightly. It is the grave of David Herold, who was convicted and hanged as a conspirator who helped John Wilkes Booth to escape after the assassination of President Lincoln. The grave is beside the monumented grave of his father, A.G. Herold, who died in 1861.

Source: The Evening Star

Publication date: October 30, 1949