They say the first casualty of war is the truth.  That may well be true, but in the early days of the war, neither side was much concerned with truth and far more with justifying their own actions, as well as portraying the opposite side as the aggressor. By the time that Lincoln was inaugurated, the time for rational discussion passed and the “better angels” had all gone to hell. The Secessionists moved quickly to surround Washington, DC in the weeks following Lincoln’s installation as President. 

Lincoln could call for 75,000 troops—but actually organizing, equipping and fielding them to defend the capitol was quite another thing. 

      Before the war, volunteer militia units were all the rage in America.  In the antebellum era it was fun to be a soldier and many volunteer groups donned colorful costumes, learned to drill like real soldiers and, above all, attract young ladies with their displays of manly martial virtue.  Some militia groups developed a reputation for their skill at close order drill and toured the country performing for the public, especially those units who fashioned themselves as zouaves.  The original zouaves had been recruited by the French in Algeria and wore colorful oriental style uniforms, but over the years their ethnic makeup was of less importance than their legendary reputation for élan and aggressiveness in battle.  

One of the more famous such show units was Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth’s Cadet Zouaves, originally based out of Chicago.  Although he was never able to get into West Point, Ellsworth had studied military tactics with a passion and his fencing instructor in Chicago had been an actual French zouave.  Ellsworth was a close personal friend of Abraham Lincoln’s, so when the call went out for volunteers to suppress the rebellion, Ellsworth wasted no time recruiting a regiment.  He went to New York City, sent out a call, seeking out firemen in particular, and within an amazingly brief time received more than double the number of volunteers he needed.  Although rough around the edges and short on discipline, the 11th NY “Fire” Zouaves were shipped south in short order. 

When, on May 23, 1861 Virginia officially seceded from the Union, Ellsworth’s regiment was ordered across the Potomac to secure Alexandria and Arlington Heights on the Virginia side of the river.  While securing the city, Ellsworth noticed that a Rebel flag was flying defiantly over the Marshall House, a local inn. 

The flag had been something of a sore point for weeks, being visible from across the river and symbol of Lincoln’s inability to preserve the Union even within sight of the capital. Not willing to allow this act of defiance to go unanswered, Ellsworth personally climbed up to the top of the Marshall House and tore down the offending flag from the large flagpole on the roof. 

As Colonel Ellsworth was descending the stairs, however, the hotel owner, one James Jackson, appeared without warning and murdered Ellsworth with a shotgun at close quarters. Jackson was immediately rewarded for this action with his own death at the hands of Ellsworth’s men. 

It was still early in the war and the death of a single officer, especially a celebrity such as Ellsworth, was still notable news in the North.  Ellsworth being a close associate of Lincoln amplified the importance of his death.  Soon throughout the North, Ellsworth was hailed as a martyr to the cause of preserving the Union.

In the ensuing months and years following his death, rumors began to circulate that, although dead, Colonel Ellsworth was not really gone from the Marshall House.  Some claimed to see him removing the Rebel flag from the rooftop of the hotel, others swore they saw his shade on the stairs where he was murdered. 

It was also reported that the ghost of the murderer Secessionist James Jackson, haunted the same stairwell in the old inn.  The old Marshall House and its resident ghosts stood unmolested on the same spot until the 1950’s, when old hotel was torn down as part of a modernization trend in the city.  Normally, that would be the end of the story, but in this case apparently it is not.

The Alexandrian Hotel, is a modern “boutique hotel,” which occupies the exact same space where the old inn long had stood.  It has all the amenities one expects in a modern hotel, plus one more: it is also haunted.

Apparently in replacing the old with the new, no one informed the spectral residents of the property of the change.  There are those who claim that the ghosts that haunt the Alexandrian are the same restless shades of the Civil War who roamed the old hotel.  

Most times nothing is actually seen; but people who have stayed at the new boo-tique hotel claim to hear the sound of gunshots out in the hallways, as if the Rebel hotel owner and the zouaves who killed him are still having it out in the new building. 

On one occasion recently, a couple was riding the elevator when it unexpectedly opened at the fourth floor. No guests were there on the floor, but the couple saw a glowing light appear on the wall opposite, then disappear.  Later, these visitors found they were not alone in having uncanny experiences there.

According to some, it is the hotel’s sixth floor that is most haunted. This could be a spectral reflection of Ellsworth’s flag-taking venture, although reports are vague on that score. 

Regardless, the hotel embraces the site’s haunted heritage; in the past it has offered a “Ghosts of Alexandria Family Package” which includes discounted room rate, a stay on the “haunted sixth” plus tickets for the local ghost tour of the town. As is the case with any hotel that is allegedly haunted, check to see whether they still offer that package since it has changed management.  

In any case, Alexandria and nearby DC are chock full of Civil War era ghosts and haunts, and who knows maybe Colonel Ellsworth will still put in a personal appearance for visitors.