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Wilmer Mclean
The Civil War virtually began in Wilmer Mclean’s kitchen in Manassas on July 18, 1861, when a Union shell dropped into the chimney and exploded in a pot of stew. Mclean moved his family to central Virginia but he remained in Northern Virginia. From his experience as a merchant he knew that a long war would cause the price of commodities to rise higher and higher. He began to speculate in sugar and made a tidy income during the war. Wilmer McLean left northern Virginia in March 1862 and moved to Appomattox Court House, only to have his house chosen for the surrender of Robert E. Lee in 1865.
Portici
The Lewis family
of “Portici” found themselves at the center of the First Battle of
Manassas. Confederate officers notified the Lewis family that a battle was
imminent and that their house would be exposed to fire. They evacuated,
taking everything they could with them, but left valuable and heavy furniture
behind. The furniture was stored in a small room in an angle of the
house, and the room securely nailed shut. The only shot that struck
the house during the battle struck this room and destroyed all of the
furniture. Furniture was a trifling matter
however. Fannie Lewis was in her ninth month of pregnancy and went
into labor as they began to evacuate the house. Servants found a
nearby ravine and dug a small earthen hollow into the bank. They
covered this with greens. It was here that Fannie Lewis delivered
her first baby, John Beauregard Lewis.
Zouave
The Manassas Battlefield, in Prince
William County, is also home to a number of Civil War spirits. During the Second Battle of Manassas, in 1862,
the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry
[Zouaves] sustained devastating losses. One of the dead may still haunt the area. A phantom Zouave soldier has
been seen repeatedly on the battlefield’s New York Avenue Field. The phantom beckons the onlooker to follow
him into the woods. To date, no one has
taken the ghost up on the offer.
Near the New York Avenue Field, a structure known as the
old Stone House is also said to be haunted. Originally a tavern, the house
served as a field hospital during both the battles of First (1861) and Second (1862)
Manassas. Strange lights have been seen
in the house at night, although it is locked every night by park rangers. Strange sounds, like screams and groans are also
said to come from the house.
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