Ghosts in Fort Monroe | Roulez Magazine

May 12, 2020 By ktoms
Interior facing wall of Fort Monroe, the area of the Casemate Museum and Jefferson Davis’ cell. This is also where Clement Claiborne Clay, head of the Confederate secret agents and John Mitchel, Sr, newspaperman and Irish Confederate, were held at the same time. | Photo by: C.Kimberly Toms

“The Most Distinguished Collection of Spirits in the Country”

Among the well-known people said to still walk the passageways and grounds of Fort Monroe today are Lafayette, Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Jefferson Davis. One could argue that these men have plenty of other places to haunt. But the fort has played such a major role in American history since October 1609, so perhaps these men pass through now just as they did before. Davis was imprisoned here for two years from May 1865.

The most famous soldier to serve at Fort Monroe was none other than Edgar Allan Poe, the writer of dark poetry and short stories. Of course, this soldier’s tour of duty only adds to the fort’s mystique, particularly since it is said to have been the setting where Poe penned Annabel Lee.

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