The Haunted Old Brick Capitol

Posted: 11.25.2024 | Updated: 11.25.2024

The ghosts of war pepper the nation’s East Coast- its cities and grassy plains once battlegrounds for independence and freedom. Today, the former site of the Old Brick Capitol houses a wing of the Supreme Court, where difficult decisions and impassioned speeches are made. It’s a building filled with perpetual emotional energy, more than enough for the ethereal figures of yesteryear to manifest and reclaim the land they once gave their lives to defend. 

The Old Brick Capitol may have been demolished in the early 20th century to make room for progress, but the blood-soaked grounds surrounding where it once stood and the darkness that brewed during the nation’s violent evolution summon specters trapped between the realm of the living and eternal peace. Even as the commotions of contemporary life keep the halls of the Supreme Court busy, spectral energies circulate to reveal the past. 

Intrigued by what haunts may stalk the nation’s Capitol building? Uncover tales of apparitions and the spectral forms that tie the nation’s sordid past to its complex present on a walking ghost tour with DC Ghosts. 

Why is the Old Brick Capitol haunted?

Early American history is riddled with conflict, much of it unfolding where major cities stand today. The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., has seen its share of emotion, from the British assault on the U.S. Capitol to the Confederate-filled prison of the Civil War. Though the Old Brick Capitol no longer stands, the history it absorbed over its 114 years standing on Capitol Hill, including the imprisonment of an alleged conspirator in President Lincoln’s assassination, permeates throughout the Supreme Court building that stands in its wake today. 

The Burning and Rise of a New Capitol

Though the Old Brick Capitol wasn’t erected until 1815, the catalyst for its inception was a year earlier, when British forces marched on Washington, D.C., during the War of 1812. With the Capitol building destroyed, Congress required temporary quarters when the smoke of the war cleared in 1815. 

Elsewhere in Washington, D.C., New Jersey native Pontius Delare Stelle saw an opportunity in the influx of government officials after the turn of the 19th century, nearly a decade after D.C. was founded as the nation’s capital. Moving from his home in Trenton, Stelle is believed to have erected several hotels throughout the city, though only one proved important to the nation’s development. Built on a plot at 1st and A streets NE, the location of the aptly named Stelle’s Hotel was central to where many Congressmen were housed. 

Eventually, Congress knocked down Stelle’s Hotel and built a temporary Capitol building that operated as the center of the nation for four years. In 1819, it earned the title of the “Old Brick Capitol.” From that point on, the building amassed energies, dark and otherwise, responsible for the ghostly figures said to roam the halls of the contemporary Supreme Court building.

The Old Capitol Prison and the Gallows

After being decommissioned as an official government building, the Old Brick Capitol underwent several uses over the next 42 years. First, it was used as a private school, likely catering to the children of Congressmen and government officials. Then, its classrooms were swapped out for bedrooms as it became a boarding house. 

As a boarding house, the Old Brick Capitol also recorded its first notable death: Vice President John C. Calhoun. Calhoun helped lead the nation under Presidents Adams and Jackson and served as a House of Representatives and the Secretary of War. The champion for the Old South passed away in the Old Brick Capitol on March 31, 1850, from tuberculosis, an awful infection that, incidentally, is responsible for the many haunts in 19th-century hospitals across the nation.

The Confederate Spy

After years of serving the local community, the Old Brick Capitol was purchased by the Union and converted into the Old Capitol Prison when the Civil War broke out. For the duration of the Civil War, the prison held Confederate soldiers, insubordinate Union officers, ladies of the night, political prisoners, and accused spies. 

One of the earliest of the latter was Isabella “Belle” Boyd, a Confederate spy whose descent into infamy started in 1861 when she shot and killed a Union soldier who broke into her home and attacked her mother. After being acquitted for the soldier’s death, Belle went all in on her support for the Confederacy and started gathering intelligence from Union soldiers unaware of her true intention. 

In 1962, she was arrested for her crimes against the nation and imprisoned in the Old Capitol Prison. She survived her time in prison and went on to live a fruitful life until her passing in 1900. Though she died many miles away, Belle’s ghost is believed to be one of several haunting the Supreme Court, her restless spirit trapped in a constant struggle to change the course of history and help earn a Confederate victory.

Other prisoners of the Old Capitol Prison, like Mary Surratt and Henry Wirz, weren’t as lucky as Belle to survive their time in Union hands.   

Mary Surratt, A Ghost of the Confederacy

Two well-known ethereal figures said to haunt the site of the Old Brick Capitol were firsts of their time, though their sullen spirits would have preferred not to carry their respective titles. Especially Mary Surratt, who the Union accused of conspiring against President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth. 

Though Booth carried out the act, four accomplices were uncovered after the jarring event, Surratt among them. While the other three — David Herold, Lewis Powell, and George Azterodt — were agents in the events that unfolded, Surratt’s involvement was questionable as she merely owned the boarding house where the conspirators gathered.

Did Surratt know of the plan to kill Lincoln? This remains unanswered even more than 140 years later and is undoubtedly an accusation her spirit likely still seeks absolution from today. Whatever the truth, Surratt was deemed a co-conspirator and imprisoned at the Old Capitol Prison. As difficult as her time served was, the worst of it came on July 7, 1865, when she and her fellow condemned were executed on the grounds of the Old Arsenal Penitentiary. At the time of her hanging, Surratt was the first woman ever executed by the U.S. government.

The Ghost of Henry Wirz

Another well-known specter tied to the land where the Old Brick Capitol once stood was Hartmann Heinrich Wirz, known best by his American name, Henry Wirz. A Switzerland native, Wirz was exiled from his home nation when he was caught embezzling from a local business. Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the worst of his lifetime crimes.

During the height of the Civil War, Wirz oversaw operations at two Confederate POW camps, the second being Camp Sumter, known more notoriously as Andersonville. Andersonville was infamous for its deplorable conditions, which were so bad that an estimated 28% of the population (13,000 prisoners) died under Wirz’s control. As the Confederate army faltered, Union troops took control of the POW camps, and in May 1865, Wirz was captured and shipped off to Washington, D.C.

At his trial, which was the first war crimes trial in the United States, he was accused of intentionally failing to intervene to prevent the death and mistreatment of prisoners. On November 10, 1865, Wirz became one of only two Confederates executed for war crimes committed during the Civil War. His death was most distressing, as his neck didn’t break from the initial fall. He writhed in front of spectators, suspended by his neck as the life slowly and painfully drained from him.

Apparitions Roam the Supreme Court

With the Old Brick Capitol building gone, the ghosts once tied to it have found their home in the current U.S. Supreme Court. Mary Surratt, Henry Wirz, and Belle Boyd share the space with a number of other spirits. 

Among them is an apparition clad in Union colors, seemingly at unease in his search for something in the Old Brick Capitol. Some speculate it’s General Joseph Holt, who presided over the very tribunal that sent Mary Surratt to her death, still seeking the truth behind her involvement in Lincoln’s assassination.

Though many claim to have seen the ethereal forms of Confederate soldiers who likely died during their time in the Old Capitol Prison, it’s Mary Surratt whose spirit is most at unrest. Even today, she proclaims her innocence, her cries echoing the pain and sorrow felt during her final days among the living.

Haunted Washington, D.C.

The nation’s capital has played an important role in the advancement of the United States. The highs and lows of a developing nation have left their mark on Washington, D.C., chipping away at the fabric of our reality. This has allowed benevolent and otherwise chaotic forces to slip through and find their footing in our realm. 

Care to explore the haunting history of the capital, including a more extensive narrative history of the Old Brick Capitol? Then book your ghost tour with DC Ghosts today and stroll through the capital as you hear all about the city’s resident specters. For even more Washington, D.C. haunts and to keep up with our exploits, check out more of our blog and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. 

Sources:

https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/buildings-grounds/capitol-building/history

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-C-Calhoun

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/isabelle-boyd

https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/only-two-confederates-were-executed-for-war-crimes-during-the-civil-war

http://wesclark.com/jw/judge.html