ALEXANDRIA. A city and port of entry in Alexandria County, Va., on the Potomac River, about six miles below Washington, and on the Southern, the. Pennsylvania, the Baltimore and Ohio, and the Chesapeake and Ohio rail roads (Map: Virginia, G 3). Alexandria is 100 miles from the month of the Potomac, but the stream which forms its harbor is a mile wide. The city is accessible to large vessels. and, therefore, is able to control an exten sive and increasing trade. It has several shoe factories, flour mills, machine shops, plan ing mills, fertilizer plants, glass works, chemi cal works, brick works, and breweries. The city owns and operates its gas and electric light plants. and has a public library, and notably good schools. Alexandria was first in corporated in 1749, and is now governed by a charter of 1879, as revised in 1895. The mayor is elected biennially, and the city council is a bicameral body. The people elect all the impor tant officers, such as treasurer, auditor, tax collector, etc., the city council electing the rest; the mayor has no powea' of appointment. At
Alexandria, originally called Belhaven, Brad dock made his headquarters before marching against the French in 1755, and here, on April 13, the governors of New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, _Maryland, and Virginia met to concert plans for the expedition. Alexandria lay within the territory ceded by Virginia to the United States in 1789, but was retroceded in 1840, and again became a part of Virginia in 1847. In 1S14, the inhabitants, terrified by the approach of a British fleet, secured immunity from attack by paying the equivalent of about $100,000. During the Civil War Alexandria was occupied by Federal troops, and was the capital of that part of Virginia which adhered to the Union and recognized Pierrepont as governor. Washington was one of the first vestrymen of Old Christ Church here. Pop., 1S90, 14,339; 7900, 14,52S. Consult Celebration of the First Centennial of the Municipal Government of Alexandria (Alexandria, IMO).