Philadelphia has a number of interesting sights and beautiful landmarks but how many of them can say they are haunted? By multiple ghosts, no less! Only a converted fort which now stands as a National Historic Landmark can lay claim to that distinction. What fort, you ask? And what ghosts still lurk in its dark corners? Read on to find out...
Revolution, Revolution, Revolution
On the outer edge of Philadelphia, just below the Navy yard, sits Fort Mifflin, a remnant of the American Revolutionary War. Originally intended to act as a fortification for the British Army to store supplies for its troops, construction began built on a plot of land known as Mud Island in 1771 but was abandoned the following year. Eventually, the fort was taken over by the Americans and construction was completed on Fort Mifflin in 1776. It would stand alongside Fort Mercer in New Jersey as Philadelphia’s defense against the British Empire.
Unfortunately, Fort Mifflin’s tenure at the frontline of colonial defense would be short-lived. The British Army captured Philadelphia in September of 1777 and immediately began making plans to stage a siege of Mifflin and Mercer. The Brits recognized the strategic importance of the forts and placed Captain John Montresor -- the man who had originally designed the plans for Fort Mifflin when it was still under British rule -- in charge of designing a plan of attack. Montresor used his knowledge of the land to lay siege to Mifflin beginning in October of 1777. For six weeks, 400 American soldiers held off two thousand British troops and 250 naval ships, but on November 10, 1777, leaders on the American side recognized continued efforts to defend the fort would be futile and result in further loss of life so they ordered American soldiers to evacuate. In total, more than two hundred fifty Americans were counted as dead or wounded, along with countless more on the British side.
Back On the Chain Gang
The American Revolutionary War wouldn’t be the last time Fort Mifflin was commissioned for battle. Almost 100 years after the British laid siege to Mud Island, Fort Mifflin would see its walls filled with soldiers again… but this time as prisoners!
Beginning in 1863, Fort Mifflin became a prison for the Union, holding Confederate prisoners of war, Union deserters, and the occasional civilian. Treatment of prisoners at Fort Mifflin was harsh. It wasn’t uncommon for a prisoner to be whipped or hung by his thumbs; to prevent escape, many wore a ball and chain while they worked. Because of the unnecessarily harsh nature of the punishments being meted out there were multiple escape attempts by prisoners.
In what may be the fort’s most famous case, a Union private named William Howe was sent to Fort Mifflin on the charges of desertion and murder. While trying to escape arrest on the desertion charge, Howe shot and killed a Union officer. Howe was sent to Fort Mifflin in January of 1864 and less than a month later, in early February, he staged an escape with two-hundred other prisoners. Howe was recaptured and briefly sent to Eastern State Penitentiary, before being sent back to Fort Mifflin where he was hanged in August of the same year.
The Screaming Lady
Fort Mifflin’s violent history crosses multiple wars and many of the spirits that are claimed to haunt its halls are a direct result of those conflicts, but its most famous ghost belongs to a civilian: Elizabeth Pratt.
Pratt lived near Fort Mifflin sometime during the latter half of the 18th century, making her contemporaneous of the soldiers who were stationed at Fort Mifflin during the American Revolutionary War. And, in fact, it would be a soldier who led to Pratt’s downfall. Local lore suggests her daughter caught the eye of an officer stationed at Fort Mifflin and he proposed. When her daughter relayed message of the proposal and her intention to accept, Pratt became enraged and threw her daughter out. Shortly thereafter the daughter passed away from either typhoid or dysentery and the officer moved away. Upon being told of her daughter’s death, Pratt let out a scream in grief. She was found a few days later hanging in her home. Today, it is said, Pratt’s ghost can still be heard haunting Fort Mifflin with her grief-stricken howls.
For more information on Fort Mifflin hauntings, here is a short documentary produced on the subject produced by PBS: