“The Terrifying Tunnel” on Wilkes Street in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, VA – Alexandrians have long admired the sturdily constructed Wilkes Street Tunnel that runs from Wilkes and Royal Streets to Windmill and Shipyard Parks along the S. Lee Street riverfront. The tunnel was built in the 1850s to carry the freight cars of the Orange & Alexandria Railroad to and from the many, long-vanished factories along the Potomac’s edge. You can see clear through one end of the tunnel to the other.
Yet many residents have taken fright there. For the barrel-like passageway is said to be haunted, the presence of ghosts has been felt, and in fact, there are documented instances of terrible deaths and mutilations inside the long, damp, cavernous space.
Those walking along the dark, 170-foot-long passageway, flanked by sandstone blocks and bricks, sometimes encounter “cold spots”. These are said to be the physical manifestations of deceased spirits. You don’t believe this? Well, examine the tunnel’s history before making up your mind.
The tragic incidents occurred during the Civil War, or the “Late Pleasantness” as some Southerners dryly called the bloody conflict. The Alexandria Gazette from 1862 to 1864 described the mayhem. At least two of the three victims were Union Army soldiers.
One late summer afternoon a youthful Northern volunteer from Delaware was stabbed to death in the tunnel. The gruesome act included knife wounds to the spine and windpipe. Another Union soldier was arrested on suspicion but later released. The likely motive was found out, however. The stricken soldier had agreed to serve in the Army in return for a bounty. He was carrying his cash on him at the time of the slaying. It was common, in fact, for a Union soldier to take the place of another man who’d been drafted in exchange for several hundred dollars. Quite likely the thug in question was going after his money.
“Contrabands”, escaped slaves who had fled to Union lines, maintained the tracks in and about the tunnel. Confederate raiders would attack railroads in the region, and Union troops would place pro-Southern residents on railroad cars to deter attacks. Wild times.
Wilkes Street, in case you’re wondering, is not named after John Wilkes Booth, Lincoln’s assassin, but after Lord Mayor of London, one John Wilkes. He ardently supported George Washington during the American Revolution, and a city proud of its hometown hero G.W. named the street after the dissident Brit.
Around the same time of the stabbing, according to the Old Town Crier, another man was murdered near the Royal Street side of the tunnel. He did not get a quick and decent burial. His killers placed the head of his corpse on a rail, and his skull was crushed when a train later passed over it.
Several years before, on the waterfront end of the passage, a drunken Union soldier fell onto the rails as a train came by, and sheared off one of his legs, according to writer Matt Eng in Offbeat NOVA. The site surely seemed cursed, especially for Yankee soldiers, who sometimes had brickbats tossed their way by irate, pro-Southern denizens.
The tunnel’s rail traffic ended in 1975, following the demise of many factories and warehouses on the waterfront. So, a visitor today shouldn’t worry about being crushed by a locomotive. However, given the site’s grim history, anyone stout-hearted enough to brave the tunnel’s “cold spots” might take along some ghost repellent.
Ed Moser is an area tour guide, historian (Washington Area Discovery Hikes | Meetup), and swimmer. Discover Ed Moser’s latest books and tours! The Old Town Horror: Murder and Theft in America’s Most Historic Locale, The Lost History of the Capitol: The Hidden and Tumultuous Saga of Congress and the Capitol Building, The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal & Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square, and he owns and operates Lafayette Tours in the Washington DC area.
Ed Moser’s latest books and tours!
The Old Town Horror: Murder and Theft in America’s Most Historic Locale:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1J1GJVR/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A1Y53T3O3Q25L8&psc=1
Meetup Washington Area Discovery Hikes:
Washington Area Discovery Hikes (Washington, DC) | Meetup
The Lost History of the Capitol: The Hidden and Tumultuous Saga of Congress and the Capitol Building:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lost-history-of-the-capitol-edward-p-moser/1139708776
The White House’s Unruly Neighborhood: Crime, Scandal & Intrigue in the History of Lafayette Square:
On TripAdvisor:
Lafayette Square Tour of Scandal, Assassination & Intrigue (Washington DC) – All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (tripadvisor.com)
