Well, this was a hopefully step to revitalize Anacostia, but the most recent owner made a couple bad decisions.

Here is the building as it looked around 1919 as Bury’s drug store.

Bury’s drug store around 1919

And below is the current Google Street View of what used to be Uniontown Bar and Grill.

The beautiful old building might have life again, according to the City Paper.

The post Then and Now: Bury’s Drug Store to Uniontown Bar & Grill appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Here is a great series of photographs, showing Washington in the 1960s, as viewed from the east.

view of Washington from the east

view of Washington from the east

view of Washington from the east

view of Washington from the east

The post Incredible Aerial Views of D.C. From Anacostia appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Take a look at how different Good Hope Road in Anacostia looked in 1916.

Anacostia and Good Hope Road in 1916

And below is the Google Map of the same area, with a pin marking the intersection of Good Hope Road and 19th Pl. SE.

The post Good Hope Road in 1916 appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Take a look at this Baist map of Anacostia in 1907.

1907 Baist real estate atlas of Anacostia

The post 1907 Map of Anacostia appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Here is a terrific shot of homes being built in Anacostia. This was taken around 1919 and this row appears to be the 1900 block of 16th St. SE. Check out the Google Street View below (it’s not quite the same angle because of the trees obstructed the view). This makes for a great “Then and Now.”

Anacostia home being constructed circa 1919

The post Anacostia Street Frozen in Time (1919) appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

This is a guest post by John (from The Lion of Anacostia), cross-posted here.

Col. Daniel S. Lamont, got lost in 19th century Anacostia.

While trying to confirm President Hayes visited Douglass at Cedar Hill, I came across this news item telling of President Grover Cleveland (the 22nd and, later, the 24th President) and his trusted friend Daniel S. Lamont getting, what appears to be, lost in 19th century Anacostia, lost on the Southside.

In Life and Times Douglass lauds Cleveland, a Democrat and former NY Governor. Cleveland, first elected in 1884 after defeating former Speaker of the House James Blaine, kept Douglass in his position as Recorder of Deeds for the District of Columbia for a year into his administration. Elected on a reformist platform with the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act still in implementation, upon taking office Cleveland announced that no political appointee would lose their job solely on political reasons, competency was the criteria. With that Douglass was apparently qualified to serve, albeit on a low level, in his Democratic administration.

Below is the article in the Washington Post from August 13th, 1886.

The President’s Visit to Mr. Fred Douglass.

The President once visited the home of Fred Douglass in a very informal and unexpected way. He was out driving one afternoon with Col. Lamont and instead of going in a northwest direction drover over the Eastern Branch into the little village of Anacostia. After making a few circuits of the roads, Albert, who was on the box, turned into a side road for the purpose of making a short cut. Presently he pulled up before a modest country house, where the road ended. He had lost his way.

“Who lives here?” said Col, Lamont, as he leaned over the side of the carriage and addressed a little boy who was gazing in wonder at the handsome equipage which had so suddenly appeared.

“Mr. Fred Douglass,” was the reply.

The President looked around him and smiled. “Drive on,” he said to the coachman, and a moment later the carriage was rumbling down the hill.

Grover Cleveland

Related articles

• Anacostia High School Baseball Team (1939) (ghostsofdc.org)
• Frederick Douglass Attends First Union Alumni Association of Howard University and Toasts “Self-Made Men” (ghostsofdc.org)
• Three Things About Poplar Point and Anacostia Flats (ghostsofdc.org)
• Charles Douglass calls swearing-in of Senator H.R. Revels “one of the greatest days” in “the history of this country.” Tells his father “the door is open, and I expect yet to see you pass in” (ghostsofdc.org)
• Three Things About the O Street Pumping Station (ghostsofdc.org)
• Violence on Streets of Old Anacostia ["Washington Letter," Baltimore Sun, 1886] (ghostsofdc.org)

The post Grover Cleveland Gets Lost in 19th Century Anacostia appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

This is a guest post by John (from The Lion of Anacostia), cross-posted here.

I walk the streets, alleys, back-cuts, and lounge on the corners of Anacostia everyday, every hour, every minute. Tour an abandominium or two. Reports and the widely held perceptions of violence and criminality in Anacostia, as I see it and know it, are over-rated. But that perspective is relative. After some quiet, over in Barry Farm folks are getting slumped once again. Youngsters are still bucking off shots late night in and around earshot of the 1400 block of W Street SE (formerly Jefferson Street), but this isn’t the late ’80s, 1995, or even the early 2000s (aughts).

Relatively speaking, if you’re not in “the game,” and/or wearing Foamposites, rocking a Helly Hansen coat, Anacostia is a small village where you can feel safe. But that’s the mindset of someone who knows the community and the history.

Murder and violence is nothing new to America, to our cities, or to the streets of Old Anacostia.

Baltimore Sun – Letter From Washington

From the Baltimore Sun‘s “Letter from Washington,” 1886,

Washington, June 17. – An inquest was held at the eighth precinct station this afternoon upon the body of Ernest Allen, who died this morning at Providence Hospital from a blow given last Tuesday night by John A. Owens, who keeps a grocery store at the village of Anacostia, on Nichols avenue. It appeared that a short time ago Owens was accused of violating the liquor license law, and Allen was a witness against him in the Police Court. This excited the anger of Owens, and when Allen was near Owen’s store last Tuesday a quarrel occurred, and Owens struck Allen in the head with a stone or a weight, and depressed his skull. He fell unconscious. Dr. Pyles, of Anacostia, paid him medical attention, and was then sent to Providence Hospital, where he lingered until this morning. The jury found in accordance with the facts.

Related articles

• Anacostia High School Baseball Team (1939) (ghostsofdc.org)
• Three Things About Poplar Point and Anacostia Flats (ghostsofdc.org)
• Anacostia River and Jazz Festival (thatkelliegirl.com)

The post Violence on Streets of Old Anacostia (1886) appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Fairlawn real estate advertisement from the Washington Herald – July 22nd, 1911

This is an advertisement for new development and real estate across the Eastern Branch, near Anacostia. Click on the ad for a closer look at what is a harsh window into a very different (and blatantly racist) time in Washington. Reading these anachronistic advertisements over 100 years later still makes you cringe at the way things were back then.

Fairlawn is also where Anacostia High School is located.

Related articles

• The National Cathedral School for Boys (St. Alban’s) in 1910 (ghostsofdc.org)
• Anacostia High School Baseball Team (1939) (ghostsofdc.org)

The post To See Fairlawn Means a Lot appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Admittedly, I do not focus enough east of the river. I was doing a little digging around the Library of Congress archives and came across this gem.

This is an advertisement for homes in Congress Heights, published on May 17th, 1902 in the Washington Times. Read through the whole thing. It’s amazing.

Congress Heights advertisement - May 17th, 1902 (Washington Times)

Related articles

• Move to Cathedral Highlands: An Unobstructed View of the Entire Surrounding Country (ghostsofdc.org)
• Old Columbia Heights: Where the Streets Have New Names (ghostsofdc.org)
• Owning Your Own Apartment is Preferred to Owning Your House (ghostsofdc.org)
• At Last! DC Finally Gets Its Own Flag (ghostsofdc.org)
• Herbert Copeland: The Last Person Hanged in D.C. (ghostsofdc.org)

The post Congress Heights: The Healthiest and Most Delightful Suburb of Washington appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

If you’re fortunate enough to be participating in WABA’s “Down the Tubes” ride tomorrow, the last stop on your journey is going to be Poplar Point. Probably 70% of District residents don’t know what this is or where it is, but a number of important historical events have happened here. One of these events involved a future president.

1. Bonus Army and the Summer of 1932

Over 43,000 marchers came to Washington in 1932 demanding payment for their World War Adjusted Compensation Act bonuses. The law was passed on May 1924, entitling each veteran of World War I to $1.00 for each day of military service within the United States and $1.25 for each day served overseas during the war.

This was a financially viable idea during the Roaring Twenties, but the economic implosion on Wall Street and the subsequent Great Depression, times were tough, and budgets were tight. Many of the veterans were awarded these bonuses in the form of certificates, with compound interest, not redeemable until 1945. Most of the men, having lost their jobs, were without income and came to Washington demanding immediate payment for their service in the military.

The men came to Washington with their families and camped on the south bank of the Anacostia River and, within a short period of time, a Hooverville had grown on the banks of the river.

Bonus Army encampment in 1932 (Shorpy)

On July 28th, Attorney General William Mitchell ordered police to remove the Bonus Army from their illegal campsite. After their brief eviction, the veterans returned, but in doing so, a crowd rushed two policemen, cornering them. The policemen drew their guns and shot two veterans at close range, William Hushka and Eric Carlson. Both Hushka and Carlson died — they were later buried with honor at Arlington Cemetery.

President Hoover was informed of the incident and demanded the immediate eviction of the camp by the U.S. Army. General Douglas MacArthur (familiar name?) was the commanding officer, supported by Major George Patton (also familiar?) and the General’s aide, Dwight D. Eisenhower (in 20 years, he’s going to be president).

The Bonus Army had been congregating near Pennsylvania Avenue, north of the Anacostia River, when they were confronted with the MacArthur’s 12th Regiment and 3rd Cavalry. They (and their families) were charged and chased by fixed bayonets, across the river back to their campsite on the Anacostia Flats. Hoover ordered the assault to stop, but MacArthur disobeyed, feeling the Bonus March was a Communist insurrection, designed to overthrow the government.

The U.S. Army forcefully evicted the veterans from their campsite, this time permanently, burning all the structures to the ground. Countless veterans were injured in the process, over 100 were arrested, one woman had a miscarriage and a baby died after being caught in a tear gas attack.

This was one of the lowest points in United States military history as well as American history and it happened on the banks of the Anacostia River (aka, the Eastern Branch of the Potomac), all within site of the Capitol Building.

Bonus Army eviction in 1932 (Wikipedia)

2. A proposed stadium site

The southern bank of the Anacostia River is an excellent place to put a stadium. D.C. United would love a shiny new home there. Well, they were not the first to think about this. I dug up an article from October 25th, 1925, proposing a new stadium on the river.

Sixty-six acres of the Anacostia Flats, known as section E, was recommended as a suitable site for the construction of the proposed athletic stadium at a meeting of the Anacostia Citizens Association last night in the Masonic temple at Fourteenth and U streets northeast.

This tract is bounded on the north by the Pennsylvania and B. & O. railroad tracks and on the south by Pennsylvania avenue. Need of such a stadium in the National Capital was stressed by the citizens. It was pointed out that a stadium would attract intersectional games here as well as large crowds of visitors.

Well, the stadium didn’t happen then, and it’s not going to happen today.

3. Bolling Field opens for air mail

An article in the Washington Post on July 5th, 1918 marks the opening of Bolling Field, the day earlier. On the Fourth of July, the air field was opened to provide air mail service for the Washington area.

Bolling field is the name given to the aviation station opened yesterday on the Anacostia flats, opposite the War College, under an order issued by Maj. Gen. William L. Kenly, director of military aeronautics. It is a single-squadron field, with capacity of eighteen planes.

It will serve as a place for experiments, as the terminal of the New York, Philadelphia and Washington air mail line and as a training field for administrative officers to practice. It will supplement the Potomac Park field, where the mail heretofore has been landed. The first mail was delivered on Bolling field yesterday.

The field is named in memory of Col. Raynal C. Bolling, of the signal corps, who was killed in action March 29 on the road between Estree and Foukan Court, France, during the German offensive.

In 1938, the disastrous crash in Anacostia originated from this field, killing Leslie MacDill (they named a base after this guy) and Joseph Gloxner.

This was an epic post and I hope you enjoyed it. More importantly, I hope you enjoy your bicycle tour of our city. WABA is a great organization with an important mission. If you’re not on the ride, maybe you can give them a small donation to help advocate for more bicycle use in Washington.

Related articles

• A Plane Crash in Anacostia (ghostsofdc.org)
• A 17th Century History of Anacostia: Captain John Smith, Natcochtank and Settlement (ghostsofdc.org)
• Anacostia River Walks, Vegan Burgers & Fries (vitasveganventures.wordpress.com)
• Three Things About the Bryant Street Pumping Station (ghostsofdc.org)
• Anacostia River and Surrounding Area Development Ideas (anc7d01.wordpress.com)
• 1932 Bonus March – Re Patton; MacArthur; Eisenhower, etc. (gunnyg.wordpress.com)

The post Three Things About Poplar Point and Anacostia Flats appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Bryant Street pumping station (DC Water)

You may or may not be aware of this, but it you’re part of the latter group, listen up. WABA (aka, the Washington Area Bicycle Association) is having a family-friendly event, collaborating with DC water to highlight some lesser-known local sites with some great hidden history.

The ride begins at Fort Reno, heads over to the Bryant Street Pumping Station (near Howard University), down to the O Street Pumping Station and finally, across the South Capitol Street bridge to Anacostia and Poplar Point.

The ride is happening this weekend, so you should sign up to participate this Sunday, April 1st. And to prep for this ride, GoDC will highlight some of the sites you will pass along the route.

On the ride with WABA, you’re likely to learn quite a bit, including some obscure facts and trivia that you never would have known. I will attempt to augment the information you’ll obtain on this bicycle ride with the most random information I can dig up on some of the main sites you’ll be dropping by. Thus, I thought a giant “Three Things…” style post would be appropriate to infuse you with an abundance of local trivia.

Before you depart from Fort Reno, make sure to push for a route that takes you down North Capitol Street so you can pass by the old Irish block where Annie O’Connell lived … and read her story before you go (or print it and take it with you). I’ll have a couple more posts on this topic, so stay tuned.

By 1905, Washington was outgrowing the aqueduct system that had been supplying water to the population since 1859. The demand for more water led to the development of the McMillan Reservoir and Bryant Street pumping station in 1905. The area surrounding the pumping station saw an increase in population in the early 20th century and a dramatic upswing in residents after World War I.

By the way, you should know that Bryant Street was originally called Trumbull Street (in case you

1. Surrounded by wretched buildings

Shortly after being built, an article in the Washington Post described the dramatic contrast between the pumping station and the surrounding buildings. Below is an interesting excerpt from the October 25th, 1908 newspaper.

Washington, more perhaps than other large cities in the United States, is a city of strong contrasts. While the city is becoming more an more as the years go by a city beautiful, many places can be pointed out where a wretched, tumbledown hovel adjoins a palatial building.

…

One of the most striking of these contrasts is to be seen at the magnificent new Bryant street pumping station, not only one of the largest and most efficient, but also one of the handsomest buildings for such a purpose to be found in the United States. Everything in and about the building is kept as clean as possible. A visitor going into the building any day will find the floors and walls spotlessly clean and the machinery polished until it shines and without a speck of dirt or grease where it can be kept away. The walks and lawns outside the structure are kept in an equally neat condition.

On the west side of the building, however, only a few feet from its rear end, there stand on a high bank several old weather-beaten frame structures, which mar the exterior surroundings of the pumping station to such an extent that an effort was made recently by the officials of the water department to secure a reasonable purchase price offer on the property, so that the old buildings might be torn down. Failing in this, the owner of the property, it is said ,asking about twice as much as the water department officials thought the land was worth, it has been decided to build a high board fence, over which during the summer vines will be trained, so as to shut off as much as possible of the objectionable view of the old buildings.

2. Fever epidemic forced work

I came across an article in the Washington Post on December 16th, 1905, talking about the rapid pace at which the underground piping system was constructed. It seems that the pressure to hastily construct the system was driven in part by a typhoid fever outbreak in the summer of 1905.

While it was well known by the officials of the water department that this 48-inch main would have to be laid as a necessary result of the completion of the filtration works by the authorities of the Washington Aqueduct, it was not anticipated at the District Building that this plant would be put in operation before the 1st of January, 1906. As a result of the typhoid fever agitation last summer, however, a change in the original scheme of the Aqueduct officials was decided upon, and the filter beds were put in operation as fast as they were finished without waiting until the entire project had been completed before beginning the distribution of filtered water to consumers.

For this reason, and also because of the fact that it was considered unwise to delay the work util cold weather, when water pressures would be materially reduced as the result of excessive waste, it was determined to begin the work of laying the 48-inch main in August, and orders were issued by Superintendent McFarland that it was to be a “hurry-up” job. It was fear that if the work of laying this main were delayed until the winter season, the probabilities were that the water pressures, especially in the western section of the town, would be barely sufficient to force water to the second stories of houses in that locality. As a result of turning the water into this large main, water pressures have been restored to the level pertaining when part of the gravity system was fed directly through the large mains in Georgetown belonging to the United States government.

The construction job progressed with extreme haste, laying about 8,000 feet of 48-inch cast-iron pipe in less than two months and at a cost of $120,000. The pipe was laid at a depth of nine feet in a trench that was about five feet wide and the most astounding fact was that each section of pipe weighed about 8,800 pounds.

Clearly, this was an easy job.

Bryant Street pumping station (Wikipedia)

3. Pumping station machinist run down on Pennsylvania Avenue

This is a tragic story from December 6th, 1910 … and I’m sure this is not something you’ll learn when they talk to you about the history of the Bryant Street pumping station.

Milton Brown, 23 years old, a machinist employed in the Bryant street Pumping Station, who was run down in Pennsylvania avenue southeast early Sunray [sic] morning by a party of “joy riders,” died yesterday afternoon at 5:30 o’clock at Casualty Hospital.

Brown never regained consciousness. His death was due to fracture of the skull and internal injuries. The body was removed to the morgue. Coroner Nevitt will conduct an autopsy today.

Andrew B. Carlsen, chauffeur for George W. Stuart, a wholesale fish dealer, who, ten hours after Brown was run down, surrendered to the police of the Third precinct, is held at the Fifth precinct for investigation.

I uncovered Milton’s U.S. Census record from 1910. He was actually listed at 27 years old, married for three years to Irene Brown, 28, with a young son Gilbert. They lived at 127 W St. NW, a couple blocks away from the pumping station.

Milton Brown's 1910 U.S. Census record

Also, you know who was at the Fifth precinct? That’s right … Officer Sprinkle, resident badass! I have an unhealthy obsession with this guy, but I think at least a quarter of the readers do as well, so I’m in good company.

Related articles

• A Plane Crash in Anacostia (ghostsofdc.org)
• A 17th Century History of Anacostia: Captain John Smith, Natcochtank and Settlement (ghostsofdc.org)

The post Three Things About the Bryant Street Pumping Station appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Captain John Smith sailed up the Eastern Branch of the Potomac and was well received by the Nacotchtank, the Native Algonquin people in present-day Anacostia. The Captain’s oldest map, published in 1612, marks the area as Natcotchtank.

Nacotchtank – Captain John Smith’s map (1612)

In 1621 the small sailing vessel, Tiger, headed up the Potomac from Jamestown, Virginia, with 26 men aboard. The goal of the trip was to trade corn with the Native Americans met by Captain Smith. The Nacotchtank ambushed the group and all the men were killed or taken prisoner. Henry Fleet was among those taken captive, and remained with the Natcochtank for five years, learning their language, customs and way of life.

After returning to Jamestown, Fleet made a few more journeys up the river to trade with his former captors. On one trip in 1632, he described in great detail his journey upriver. An entry of importance in the journal was the first referral to the location with the anglicized name of Nacostine, rather than Natcotchtank.

The next step in the etymology the name appears to be found in reports sent to Rome by the Jesuit fathers accompanying Leonard Calvert, the first Proprietary Governor of the Colony of Maryland. These reports refer to the area and the natives as Nacostine and add the prefix “A” to becoming a more recognizable Anacostines or Anacostans.

John Smith’s map below is pretty amazing. Click on it to get a blown up version of it.

Captain John Smith map – full size (1612)

By the mid to late 1600s, the Colony of Maryland was increasingly encroaching on the Nacotchtank’s lands, driving the tribes living south of the Anacostia River across it. Trade with the natives was growing and very much in the favor of white settlers. The Nacotchtank’s were described as being very kind, trusting and naïve. The land that they occupied on the banks of the Eastern Branch was ideal, with an excellent climate, an abundance of forests, roaming game and fishing grounds.

One great fault of the tribes was their love of the liquor bartered by the white settlers, for which they slowly traded away their game, forests, streams and ultimately their land. As the settlers continued to push the natives off their land, friction resulted, exacerbated by the Nacotchtank’s love and consumption of alcohol. The chief and his warriors would raid the white settlements, plundering and terrorizing them.

Related articles

• Jamestown Settlement… (jer979.blogspot.com)
• A Plane Crash in Anacostia (ghostsofdc.org)
• Officer Sprinkle, Opium, Murder, Suicide, Herbert Hoover, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Springsteen and Washington Senators Baseball … What a Week! (ghostsofdc.org)

The post A 17th Century History of Anacostia: Captain John Smith, Natcochtank and Settlement appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Coast Guardsman John Cullen

Most of you probably are not aware that Nazi saboteurs landed on our shores early during World War II. On June 12th, 1942, a Nazi submarine reached the coast of Long Island, landing four German spies on the sandy beaches of Amagansett. U.S. Coast Guardsman, John Cullen discovered them while on routine beach patrol. George Dasch, leader of the landing party, bribed Cullen, who promised to keep quiet and left the scene.

As soon as Cullen was out of sight, he sprinted two miles back to the Coast Guard station to alert his superiors. By the time he returned with his Coast Guard colleagues, the Germans were gone. They had made it to the nearest Long Island Railroad station, boarding the next train to Manhattan.

The Nazis had successfully landed a group of spies on United States soil and the largest manhunt in the history of the FBI had begun.

The newsreel below is a classic Hoover and FBI propaganda film, capitalizing on this incident.

Several days later, on June 18th, a second German team of four saboteurs landed near Jacksonville, Florida. They split the team in half, one boarding a train for Chicago and the other for Cincinnati.

Drasch spent several days in New York, under the veil of complete anonymity. It appeared that the two teams were en route to successfully executing their mission of sabotage. Despite this, something rather odd happened to Dasch.

Maybe George was shaken when Cullen came upon them, seeing failure and capture as inevitable. Perhaps he was anti-Nazi with allegiances to the U.S., having lived here from 1922 to the outbreak of the war (he was a naturalized citizen). Whatever it was, George made the decision to expose the plot and turn himself in.

Dasch called the FBI from New York and asked to speak directly with J. Edgar Hoover, stating that he was the leader of the Nazi group that had landed. The agent answering the call was unconvinced that Dasch was who he claimed to be and asked for him to come into FBI headquarters to meet.

George Dasch mug shot (1942)

George worked up the courage, convincing himself that he would be welcomed as a hero by Hoover and his team. He boarded a train to Washington, disembarked at Union Station and checked himself into the Mayflower Hotel, room 351.

Again he contacted the FBI and this time agents Duane Traynor and Thomas Donegan met with him in his room on June 18th, the same day the second team landed in Florida. He was now in the hands of the United States Government and within nine days, the seven remaining saboteurs were captured.

Hoover wrote a boastful letter to President Roosevelt lauding the actions and vigilance of his bureau, actions which prevented Nazi attacks on American soil. J. Edgar gave FDR the impression that it was the FBI’s actions alone that brought the men in, failing to mention that without Dasch’s surrender, eight Nazi spies would still be wandering about freely.

Nazi saboteur military trial

Roosevelt wanted a swift trial under a thick veil of secrecy and called for a military tribunal of seven generals to be held within the Department of Justice building.

All eight would-be saboteurs pleaded innocent, denouncing any allegiance to Hitler or the Third Reich. The prosecution, headed by Attorney General Francis Biddle, asked for the death penalty. On July 27th, the defense rested its case and it was handed over to the seven generals for decision.

The generals prepared their report and sent it — with the 3,000-page trial transcript — to President Roosevelt in the Oval Office. The voluminous report and papers were exceedingly time-consuming for the President and the country waited for over a week to hear Roosevelt’s final decision. On August 7th, the Washington Post published an article about the delay.

Washington, Aug. 7–A flood of rumors to the effect that President Roosevelt had made a decision in the case of the accused Nazi saboteurs and that six of them were to be executed immediately was answered today at the White House by a short and unadorned denial.

It was announced that the President had not finished reading the voluminous report and recommendations of the military tribunal that tried the men and was uncertain when he would finish it.

Tonight the eight accused men were being held in the District of Columbia jail where they have been since the start of their trial. They were under a heavy armed guard.

…

The rumors that filled the Capital, as well as many other cities, varied considerably. At first it was announced positively that six of the Nazi spies were to be executed immediately; that the President already had given the orders. Later the rumors were amended to read that the saboteurs had been given a reprieve.

Aside from the White House denial there was, meanwhile, no indication at the city jail that any sudden execution was in contemplation. The death chamber was dark. The accused still were in their widely separated cells on the south floor of the second wing.

In each cell sits an unarmed soldier to prevent attempts at suicide while armed soldiers patrol the corridors. No visitors are allowed.

Nazi saboteur trial, Washington, D.C. The special seven-man military commission opens the third day of its proceedings in the trial of eight Nazi saboteurs in the fifth floor courtroom of the Department of Justice building. (Wikipedia)

The following day Roosevelt had made his decision and taken the recommendation of the seven generals. Six of the Germans were executed and two others were given hard-labor sentences. For his role in bringing all the conspirators in, Dasch was given the lightest sentence of 30 years.

Washington. Aug. 8–Six Nazi saboteurs paid with their lives today for their thwarted plans and preparations to destroy key war facilities in the United States.

They were electrocuted in the District of Columbia Jail on the Presidentially approved recommendation of the seven-member military commission which concluded trial in Washington last Monday.

Outside the gate of the jail a crowd gathered, dissolved and gathered again. As the ambulances carrying the bodies were driven away a heavily-armed squad of soldiers kept order in the streets. They were armed with sawed-off shotguns, submachine guns and rifles.

…

The men executed were:

HERBERT HANS HAUPT.
HEINRICH HARM HEINCK.
EDWARD JOHN KERLING.
HERMAN OTTO NEUBAUER.
RICHARD QUIRIN.
WERNER THIEL.

Upon confirmation of all six executions, the White House issued a brief statement which concluded with the statement, “The records in all eight cases will be sealed until the end of the war.” The President was not in Washington. He was relaxing at Shangri La — the Maryland retreat now known as Camp David.

The dead were quickly loaded into two ambulances and driven at full speed to Walter Reed Army Hospital for autopsies. Several days later, each body was placed in individual pine boxes and taken to Blue Plains Potter’s Field in Anacostia for burial in unmarked graves. Blue Plains used to be the site of the Home for the Aged and Infirm and now it’s the site of a D.C. Water and Sewer Authority treatment plant. What’s crazy (or cool) is that you can request a tour of the Blue Plains facility, which is at 5000 Overlook Ave. SW. I’m guessing not one reader has been there yet or even knew you could do that.

Below is a silent reel which has the ambulances departing the jail (near the end).

The two Germans not executed were deported in 1948 by President Truman.

If you found this story fascinating, follow us on Twitter or Facebook to get daily updates from our blog.

Related articles

• Lake Vostok, a German Nazi base? Russian news agency floats odd theory – Washington Post (blog) (washingtonpost.com)
• The Lede Blog: World War II Rumor About an Ancient Lake Is Revived (thelede.blogs.nytimes.com)
• An impossible mission Behind enemy lines The never-before-told true story of a small team of American saboteurs with orders to sever the Third Reich’s main supply artery – the Brenner Pass (oldsaltbooks.wordpress.com)
• Diving for the Secrets of the Battle of the Atlantic (uwtreasures.wordpress.com)

The post Six Nazi Saboteurs Executed in Washington appeared first on Ghosts of DC.

Came across is crazy photo on Shorpy. This happened on November 9th, 1938 when two aviators, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie MacDill and Private Joseph G. Gloxner burned to death in the worst aerial tragedy in the history of Washington (until 9/11) after their airplane crashed on a street in Anacostia.

They had just taken off from Bolling Field and their plane went down, destroying three cars in the crash.

Airplane crash in Anacostia

Oh, by the way, MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa was named after the pilot. He was kind of a big deal.

Here’s the Washington Post report about the accident.

A special Army board last night was investigating the crash which killed and cremated two Army fliers when their pursuit plane went into a spin, narrowly missed two houses and smashed to earth in Anacostia, 2 miles from Bolling Field.

The dead were Col. Leslie MacDill, 49, of the War Department general staff, who lived at 3105 Cathedral avenue northwest, and Private Joseph G. Gloxner, of First Staff Squadron, of Reading, Pa. Both were instantly killed.

Maj. Charles P. Prime, chief investigator, said last night that eyewitnesses have given conflicting reports regarding engine trouble. Coroner A. Magruder MacDonald said he would postpone decision on holding an inquest into the deaths until he had received the Army report.

The BC-1 pursuit plane piloted by Col. MacDill took off from Bolling Field at 9:36 a.m. Three minutes later it crashed on S street, a block away from the busy intersection of Good Hope road and Nichols avenue.

Accounts pieced together from numerous eyewitnesses indicate that something happened to the motor and Col. MacDill tried to get back to his field, and then with death staring him in the face aimed his plane for a narrow space between two houses in order to land on Thirteenth street, headed for an alley.

The plane cut down telephone and power wires, knocked down a pole, clipped off tree limbs and plunged into the earth between the curb and street in front of the home of Robert Thompson, 1807 Thirteenth street, southeast.

The plane immediately burst into flames, settled back on a parked car. Burning gasoline flowed down the street and destroyed three other parked cars.

One civilian came within 10 feet of being killed in the crash. That was Clarence W. Ohm, plumber of 1612 W street southeast. He had parked his car directly across the street from the crash, and was just getting from his car when the plane struck.

Both bodies were burned beyond recognition by the flames which leaped as high as 50 feet. One of the bodies was thrown from the fuselage, while the head was torn from the other. Fireman fought half an hour with water and chemicals.

Louis Fiedler, mechanic, and Harry Rosenthal, manager of Mandell Chevrolet garage at Thirteenth street and Good Hope road, and Earl Hazel, of 1235 U street southeast, rushed to the plane with fire extinguishers. The heat drove them away. Fiedler’s face was scorched.

The street at the time of the crash was deserted except for Ohm. Few people were attracted by sound of the plane until it exploded because Anacostia residents have become accustomed to low-flying planes.

Ohm related that because of a broken gasket on the exhaust pipe of his automobile, he heard nothing until a plop which suggested to him falling of a human body. From his parked car he heard a scream and saw a body on the pavement before an explosion “like a 16-inch gun” shot up huge clouds of black smoke and flames.

Still shaking from his experience last night he said, “it was the most horrible thing I ever saw. I thought the world was coming to and end. I have felt so bad all day I couldn’t clean up the brains splattered on my car.”

Col. MacDill was a graduate of Hanover College, University of Indiana, and the Army War College. He leaves his wife, Mrs. Marilla Augusta MacDill, and two daughters, Katherine Rose, 14, and Rose, 11.

Col MacDill was first commissioned a second lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps, in 1912. By time of the World War he had been promoted to captain of Air Corps. Overseas he organized the Aerial Gunnery School at St. Jean de Monts, France.

In 1920 he was graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and held several commands until 1930 when he came to Washington in Plans Division, Office of Chief of Air Corps. After attending the Army and Naval War Colleges, he returned here in 1934.

The bodies of both men are being held at Walter Reed Hospital.

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