200 y/o Elmwood Plantation With Secret Tunnels Becomes Fort Ceres, With A Civil War Hospital On The Third Floor

Belle Montgomery

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Secret tunnels, hidden treasures: 200-year-old mansion used as Civil War hospital​



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WASHINGTON, N.C. — At first glance, the Elmwood 1820 seems like a classic bed & breakfast in a historic mansion. However, the 200-year-old manor holds many secrets inside its walls.

The first two floors of Elmwood 1820 offer spiral staircases and antique hardwood, with grand guest rooms and a southern-style wrap-around porch. The third floor, however, still bears markings from the 1860s, when it was used as a makeshift hospital for soldiers during the Civil War. Some reports tell stories of injured Union soldiers – hospitalized in a strange land and uncertain of whether they would ever return home – carving their names in the wall, a final marking in eternity to remind history of their brief existence.

The walls hold other mysteries as well:...
Rest of Article with video and more photos: https://www.wral.com/secret-tunnels...-mansion-used-as-civil-war-hospital/19341494/
 
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This Elmwood story is written by Heather Leah, who produces a great "Hidden History" series for WRAL here in Raleigh, NC.


Roy B.
 
Just curious as to what they consider the "third floor" of what appears to be a 2-story house. Looks like very limited attic-space for a hospital under those gables.
It says second floor also. There was probably overflow and the the beds were inside the lower part in by the walls (they say have messages scratched in them) and staff walked down the center where the roof is taller. Roofline shows better on the sketch. Many a Victorian home have, like my childhood home, had partially gabled ceilings and maids quarters on the third floor. I even have a childhood friend whose Tudor has a third floor "ballroom" (albeit not super high ceilings) but you could barely tell from the outside!
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