Civil War Walking Tour
Note: Please allow approximately one hour to complete this tour. Distance covered: one mile. "Site" refers to structures that no longer exist.
1. Alexandria Waterfront
The vote to ratify secession on May 23, 1861 instantly transformed Virginia from friend of the Union to enemy territory. Early the following morning, Federal troops invaded Alexandria. One of the three invasion forces, the 11th New York, "Fire Zouaves," under the command of Col. Elmer Ellsworth, sailed into the city aboard steamers. Alexandria'sfour year occupation by Federal troops had begun.
As a major seaport city along the Potomac River, Alexandria became a logical and convenient distribution point for the Federal war effort and served as a staging area for troops and provisions as U.S. armies advanced south. One soldier wrote: "Thousands of barrels of beef and pork, and many more thousands of boxes of 'hard tack' were stacked in immense piles, tier upon tier, higher than the surrounding buildings."
2. The Mansion House Hospital (partial site)
117-133 N. Fairfax Street
Due to Alexandria's rail and water transportation facilities, good network of roads and protection under the Defenses of Washington, the city became a major hospital center in the Eastern Theater of the war. More than thirty businesses and private homes were requisitioned by the U.S. government to serve as hospitals.
The Mansion House became one of the largest hospitals in Alexandria with facilities to serve 500 beds. The influx of wounded soldiers flooded the city following nearby battles. Nurse Mary Phinney wrote, "The whole street was full of ambulances, and the sick lay outside on the sidewalks from nine in the morning until five in the evening…They reached town last evening, lay in the cars all night without blankets or food…"
In the mid-1970s, a large section of the Mansion House was torn down to allow for an unobstructed view of the historic Carlyle House.
3. Marshall House (site)
Corner of King and S. Pitt streets
On May 24, 1861, the morning of the Federal invasion, Col. Elmer Ellsworth led a contingent of his "Fire Zouaves" to capture the telegraph office. On his way, Ellsworth spotted a Confederate flag defiantly waving from the rooftop of the Marshall House hotel. James W. Jackson, the hotel's proprietor and an ardent secessionist, raised the banner a month earlier during a pro-secession rally vowing that the flag would come down over his dead body.
Incensed, Ellsworth climbed the three stories to the attic, cut the halyards and pulled the flag down. As he and his men descended the stairs, Jackson stepped into the darkened stairway with a shotgun and shot Ellsworth, killing him instantly. One of Ellsworth's men, Cpl. Francis Brownell, retaliated by fatally shooting the innkeeper. Ellsworth became famous as the first Union officer to be killed in the war.
Note the plaque honoring Jackson on the exterior wall of the Holiday Inn Select.
4. Christ Church
118 N. Washington Street
George Washington was revered by both Federals and Confederates and his pew at Christ Church was the source of much amazement to the Union troops. One soldier wrote that at Christ Church, "…I could almost feel his imposing presence…" During the war, a U.S. military chaplain conducted services at Christ Church. According to one soldier, each regiment had but one opportunity to attend services at the church. In the churchyard near the corner of N. Washington and Cameron streets is a memorial marking the final resting place of thirty-four Confederate soldiers who in 1879 were re-interred there from the U.S. National Cemetery on Wilkes Street. Robert E. Lee attended services at Christ Church before the war, and his pew, along with that of Washington, is marked with a brass plate.
5. Confederate Memorial Statue, "Appomattox"
Intersection of S. Washington and Prince streets
"Appomattox" honors Alexandria's fallen sons and their comrades who survived the war. Based on a painting by John Elder and sculpted by M. Casper Buberl, "Appomattox" faces the battlefields to the South where so many of his comrades fell. In 1889, Fitzhugh Lee, governor of Virginia and Robert E. Lee's nephew, gave the keynote address at the dedication. The names inscribed on the base of the statue are those Alexandrians who gave their lives in the war. The statue's placement marks the spot where 700 troops left the city to fight for the Confederacy the morning of the Federal invasion. The statue was greatly admired and numerous replicas exist throughout the South.
6. Residence of the Military Governor
209 S. St. Asaph Street (private residence)
This house was one of the large private homes requisitioned by the Federal government and served as the residence of Gen. William Montgomery, Alexandria's first military governor. Montgomery was not well liked by some of the soldiers because of his easy-going manner with the Alexandria citizens and dubbed a "rebel in disguise." Gen. John Slough assumed the command in August of 1862. Described as "an eccentric and bellicose man," Slough arrived in Alexandria to assume command during a "reign of terror." As one historian wrote, "The streets were crowded with intoxicated soldiery, murder was of an almost hourly occurrence, and disturbances, robbery and rioting were constant…" Slough's firm leadership soon instilled order in the city and conditions improved. Slough would serve until the summer of 1865, after the end of the war.
7. Prince Street Prison
Southeast corner of Fairfax and Prince streets (private residences)
Used as a warehouse as early as 1796, this building operated in the early 19th century as a furniture factory. In 1864, the factory was confiscated by Federal authorities to beutilized as a prison. Prince Street Prison temporarily housed thousands of deserters from Federal armies. Reports from May through July 1864 state that a total of 1,152 prisoners were detained here with 106 guards to enforce the peace.
In total, the U.S. government operated five prisons in Alexandria during the war. In July of 1864, Capt. Rufus Pettit was appointed to oversee the prisons. An especially harsh officer, Pettit often tortured suspected deserters until they confessed regardless of guilt or innocence. He was later court-martialed for his cruelty and removed from service.
