Alexandria is located in the central part of the state of Louisiana, and a city and seat of Rapides parish and sit along the Red River that is on the opposite side of Pineville that is on the northwestern part of Baton Rouge. The area where the present-day Alexandria stands were laid out in 1805 along the rapids that were marked as the head of navigation and was then after the daughter of one of those that were granted the first settlements in the 1780s. The site was a community that is thriving along with the river commerce that produces cotton, sugarcane, and lumber before the start of the American Civil War. The area was occupied by the Union forces in 1863 and 1864 and was then burned down after it was vacated by the troops.