Alexandria, Virginia

[18thVirginia]

I've come across so many photos of Alexandria, Virginia in looking at forts and hospitals that I thought it would be nice to separate them into a thread of their own. At the time of the Civil War, Alexandria and Arlington were a part of one county.

In 1861, Alexandria had population of 12,000 that hoped Virginia would not secede as they expected to be invaded. On May 23,1861, the townsmen voted to secede and the next morning the Union invaded, landing at the base of Kings Street.

The proprietor of the Marshall House Hotel raised a Confederate flag and when Union Col. Elmer Ellsworth started to pull it down, he was shot in the chest by Captain James W. Jackson. Jackson was then shot by one of Ellworth's soldiers.

Alexandria soon became a logistical center for the Union Army. Houses, hotels and other institutions were soon confiscated for hospitals and barracks.

Marshall House, Alexandria, Virginia

 

[18thVirginia]

Birds Eye View of Alexandria, Virginia

 

[18thVirginia]

During these early months of 1861, we could almost see the skies grow steadily darker. War became practically a certainty. In Alexandria the training of volunteers went steadily forward, and one event after another gave evidence of how the public was changing over from a civilian to military status. Pvt ,edgar Warfield.

http://alexandriava.gov/historic/fortward/default.aspx?id=40044

Edgar Warfield at age 70.

 

[18thVirginia]

Mary Phinney von Olnhausen was the widow of a Prussian nobleman living in Lexington, MA, when she came to nurse in Alexandria in August 1862, just after the Battle of Cedar Mountain. She was assigned to the Mansion House General Hospital, the city's largest military hospital. After the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, she wrote:

The whole street (Fairfax Street) was full of ambulances and the sick lay outside on the sidewalks from nine in the morning till five in the evening. Of course places were found for some; but already the house was full; so most had to be packed back again and taken off to Fairfax Seminary, two miles out. I have been so indignant all day. - not a thing done for them, not a wound dressed...They reached town last evening, lay in the cars all night without blankets or food, were chucked into ambulances, lay about here all day, and to-night were put back into ambulances and carted off again. I think every man who comes a soldiering is a fool!

Mansion House Hospital, Alexandria, Va.

 

[18thVirginia]

House Corner of Wolfe and Washington Streets, (Brady photographer, NARA flickr).

The North side of this house was the original Contraband Hospital. Harriet Jacobs also resided here.

 

[18thVirginia]

Sickel Hospital, Alexandria, VA. (LoC, Russell, photographer)

 

[18thVirginia]

Government Bakery, Alexandria Virginia, 1863.

 

[18thVirginia]

Fort Ellsworth near Alexandria, VA, 1863. NARA flickr.

 

[18thVirginia]

St. Paul's Church, Alexandria, VA, 1862.
Served as a Union Hospital.

 

[18thVirginia]

Orange and Alexandria Railroad Depot in Alexandria.

 

[18thVirginia]

Building Barricades on Duke Street to protect the Orange and Alexandria Railroad.

 

[18thVirginia]

Orange and Alexander Railroad Routes.
By Map created by W. Vaisz for the Virginia Central Railroad Company, 1852. Digital image from Library of Congress. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

 

[18thVirginia]

Another view of Sickel Hospital.

Joseph Richardson

It is useless for you to worry about me for I always do as well as and a great deal better than those in the same occupation. I always have friends wherever I go and can get along.

• Source: Excerpt from a letter by Joseph Richardson, a patient at Sickel. Images of Alexandria, Arcadia Publishing, pg. 72. The original letter is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

 

[M E Wolf]

View attachment 60480

Fort Ellsworth near Alexandria, VA, 1863. NARA flickr.

I shall mention Fort Ellsworth is the present site of the George Washington Masonic Temple, in Alexandria, VA. It is accessable to the higher levels and when looking down, can see the outline of the Fort in the green lawns of the property.

M. E. Wolf

 

[M E Wolf]

Documents owned by M. E. Weyraugh, for viewing/study and education. Posted with permission.

Click on "Stationary turnover Frm 27- Ft Williams, VA"

Note: Fort Williams was part of the ring of forts in defense of Alexandria, Virginia; manned by the 16th New York Heavy Artillery. This Unit manned many forts, so there will be other forms generated with different Fort's names.

M. E. Wolf

 

[M E Wolf]

Document owned by M. E. Weyraugh, for education/viewing. Posted with permission.

M. E. Wolf

 

[M E Wolf]

Document owned by M. E. Weyraugh, posted with permission for study/education.

Click on Stationary Voucher Form 38-16th NY Artillery-1865 to view.

Don't know why one will view properly, the other two in small icons--however, all are visible.

M. E. Wolf

 

[18thVirginia]

Wonderful documents, M. E. Wolf.

Thanks for sharing. It's amazing how all those reports get written.

My dad was a clerk for the War Dept. before WWII and a clerk for the Army after he was drafted, so I find a voucher for stationery and pens quite interesting!

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Thanks for starting a thread on Alexandria 18th- even the name is lovely; one more place I'd like to spend a lot more time. That's if you'd ever get done with Washington. I don't know- some of the things which are not there anymore and should be can be too awful to contemplate. What they've been replaced with you'd rather not see- not that it was all lovely in 1860. You do see a lot of mud, better than asphalt.

I know everyone's seen Fairfax Seminary, couldn't resist, sorry!

The Quartermaster's corral- no idea where this was in relation to the city. Maybe not the most interesting photo but.... horses.

Alexandria Sanitary Commision Lodge, boy, when they got rolling they sprang up everywhere! Amazing!

This is cool, it's also LoC but no idea what it was originally- a book from the era, it did not say which.

 

[JPK Huson 1863]

Quartermaster's wharf, wonder if those horses on the wharf are on their way on or out? And the boy straddling that pole is awesome, wonder if he's a photographer's plant or happened to be there? I don't know- boys around boats and that much action, I'd say he was a paid prop.

These are some of my favorites- all the sweeping town photos? So happy there's one of Alexandria.