From the Archives – Civil War-Time Collections

As the 2025 Bishop’s Lenten Appeal is now well underway, giving us an opportunity to help others in our Arlington Diocese (see page 8 of this week’s bulletin), we are reminded that Saint Mary parishioners have always been generous supporters of the church and community. In 1864, while Alexandria was under Federal occupation, many parishioners fled from the city for safety, or joined the Confederate military and were fighting in the South. As a result, regular, weekly collections certainly were diminished. Even so, the parish conducted several successful special collections.

Father Peter Kroes S.J., pastor 1857-1872, hoped to establish a parish school after the Young Catholic Friends, a men’s group, built Saint Mary Hall at Royal and Wolfe Streets in 1859. War prevented the school from opening. Perhaps sensing the war was almost over, the parish held two special collections for the school. Owen Nugent’s collection “for the schoolhouse” listed 102 contributors, most of them familiar parish names: Carne, Downey, Ahern, Nugent, Harlow, Fannon, etc. A smaller collection by John Nugent listed another dozen contributors. Unfortunately, parish records do not list how much the Nugents raised. A Ladies Fair also was held, running for two weeks in December 1864. It netted $4,145.95, a large sum for that time.

According to tradition, a number of Catholic Union soldiers and civilian officials attended and supported Saint Mary Church. With so many of the city’s male breadwinners away and unable to contribute, these occupiers (and their dollars) were probably welcomed. Hopefully, their donations were in U. S. currency, not Confederate dollars! Father Kroes used this money to pay off parish debts. The Civil War ended in April 1865 and Father Kroes opened Saint Mary School in 1869. The tradition of generosity in the parish continues to this day.

— Kitty Guy, Parish Historian

In 2020, to commemorate the 225th anniversary of our parish, we started “From the Archives” as a weekly feature online and in our bulletin to spotlight the history of Saint Mary’s. Due to its popularity, we are continuing the series. An archive of the features is located here.