Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, it is one of the original national cemeteries that were established in 1862.

As one of the original national cemeteries, it served as the burial grounds for mostly Union soldiers who died in the numerous hospitals around the Alexandria area, but by 1864 it was almost filled to capacity.

Following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, four civilian members of the Alexandria Fire Department were among twenty men hired by the Union Army's Quartermaster Corp to man the Black Diamond canal barge on the Potomac River.

The four civilian firefighters, Peter Carroll, Christopher Farley, Samuel Gosnell, and George Huntington, died as a result of the collision.

As they were in service to their country, they were bestowed the honor of being buried alongside Union soldiers in Alexandria National Cemetery.