This guest post was written by Canden Schwantes and is an excerpt from her book Wicked Georgetown: Scoundrels, Sinners and Spies. William Orton Williams and Walter Gibson “Gip” Peter were cousins and as part of the Peter family were descendents of George Washington’s step-granddaughter. They both grew up at Tudor Place in Georgetown, home of the Peter family from its ... Read More »
I love this. You’ll love this too, I’m sure. It’s a bird’s eye view of Alexandria from the water in 1863. Thank you Library of Congress! Read More »
Below is a great Civil War drawing from 1862. It shows Fort Pennsylvania at Tennallytown, one of the many forts ringing Washington during the Civil War. Read More »
With the massive popularity of our panorama shots from last week, we wanted to add another great series of shot for GoDCers this week. Take a look at these photographs from the Civil War. Read More »
You may not know this, but Abraham Lincoln was a bit of a technophile. On June 18th, 1861, “Professor” Thaddeus Lowe ascended to a height of 500 feet above the National Mall, in front of where the National Air and Space Museum now stands. (Wikipedia says June 18th, but this plaque says June 18th). He sent a telegram from his ... Read More »
One of the first GoDCers, John, sent along an awesome old maps site a few days ago, appropriately named Old Maps Online. Poking around the site this past weekend (I was in a big map phase), I came across this gem from the Boston Public Library. Technically, not really a map … more a bird’s eye view of the greater ... Read More »
Below is an amazing photograph of Carver Barracks on Meridian Hill during the Civil War. In the background, you can see Columbian College (i.e., George Washington University). You may recognize this from the Cultural Tourism D.C. sign posted near 16th and Euclid. Read More »
Happy Saturday GoDCers! We are digging through old maps to post next week, and we uncovered some great old Civil War maps in the Boston Public Library archives, including this one of the rebel fortifications just west of D.C. You can see the original here. Read More »
This is an incredible stereographic image of the Marshall House in Alexandria. We found this amazing shot at the Library of Congress. … and the reason this building is important is because it’s where the first Union officer was killed during the Civil War. The day after Virginia’s secession from the Union was ratified, a Confederate flag flew above the ... Read More »
Have you ever wondered what Fort Totten looked like? Here is a photograph from just after the Civil War in 1865, showing men from the 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery at the fort’s gate. Read More »
Here is a macabre photo share for a rainy Sunday. A death warrant is being read to a man about to be hanged. The man on the gallows is Henry Wirz, a confederate captain, being executed in 1865. Wirz was in charge of the prisoner of war Camp Sumter near Andersonville, Georgia. He is one of only two men tried, ... Read More »
The next time you’re cruising around Alexandria, you need to swing by Christ Church. I hate to admit it, but prior to this photograph, I was not familiar with the church. Now, I will be heading down there to check it out. It’s probably safe to say that they were unaware of Ghosts of DC … until now. Maybe the ... Read More »
Here is a wonderful photograph from the Civil War, taken by the acclaimed photographer Mathew Brady. Read More »
Take a look at this Civil War map of D.C. and it’s surroundings. Click on it for greater detail and you’ll be able to see all the fortifications around the city (i.e., Fort Totten, Fort Lincoln, etc). Read More »
Arlington is the epicenter of recent college graduates working as paralegals, consultants or in information technology. They fill the high-rise apartments or group homes lining Wilson Blvd., Fairfax Dr. and the Orange Line from Rosslyn out to Ballston. Every Thursday night, the 20-somethings descend upon Clarendon, living the dream of being out of college and having enough money to blow ... Read More »
Ghosts of DC The lost and untold history of Washington