What now is Alexandria, VA, was first settled in 1670.

Scottish merchants founded a village in 1732, which they named Belhaven.  In
1749, by act of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the town was established and
renamed Alexandria. Although the town was included within the boundaries of the
District of Columbia in 1791, it was returned to Virginia in 1846 as an
independent city, free of county affiliations.

Union troops occupied the city throughout the Civil War.