Tag: Virginia

Categories
Announcements

Fading Corners and Abandoned Images Coming Soon!

Abandoned places have always fascinated me. A place is warm, comfortable, inviting, filled with life—until it’s not. We move on and leave behind a cold shell, decaying, lifeless, and dark. Haunted by memories. Haunted by stories. By secrets buried in dust. For over 20 years, I’ve been visiting, photographing, and documenting places some say are better left unseen, unwanted, or erased. Many of the locations in this book no longer exist, except for these photographs. Join me for a journey to the not-so-distant past, to places begging for their stories to be told. Every sagging floor, dilapidated roof, and broken window tells the tale of a life rapidly fading from memory.

This full-color, hardcover book features over 200 photos of abandoned places from all over the United States, including Arizona, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Georgia, and Florida. Plus a few photos from Canada and even Iraq!

The official release date is June 3rd. Pre-order now at Amazon or drop me an email if you’re interested in a signed copy.

Categories
Mysterious America

Most Haunted Plantations in Virginia

Hidden away down tree-shaded lanes, stately manors remind passersby of a bygone era when parasol ladies in bright dresses strolled past enslaved workers tilling the fields. Today they are historic sites, museums, or private homes, but something from the past remains. Perhaps you can catch a glimpse of a smokey figure at one of these most haunted plantations in Virginia.

Elmwood

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Elmwood Plantation in Essex County, Virginia was established in the late 18th century by the Wickham family, who were prominent landowners in Virginia. The Wickham family lived in a large brick mansion on the plantation, which was likely built in the late 18th or early 19th century. The mansion still stands today and is a private residence. It was unoccupied for much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, leading to widespread rumors of ghostly activity. The most notable occurrence is that of a spectral couple wearing extravagant clothes who appear in the midst of parties, dancing obliviously to the perplexed crowd. Their waltz takes them down the main staircase and into the garden, where they disappear.

Blandfield

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division

Blandfield is a Georgian-style plantation house in Essex County, Virginia. It was built around 1750 for William Beverley (1696–1756). As the house has been in possession of the Beverley family for over 250 years, it comes as no surprise that several family members are believed to haunt the grounds. An unknown male entity has been seen in the library, and the specter of a woman wearing a long dress appears upstairs.

Continue reading “Most Haunted Plantations in Virginia”
Categories
Commentary

Newsweek Goes Off the Rails

Hyperbolic headlines are not exclusive to news about Donald Trump–even local elections get the clickbait treatment.

Over the years, I’ve written many, many articles about bias, sloppy reporting, and outright lies in the news media. Usually it comes from journalists with a left-wing bias, but this article in Newsweek is absurd in the opposite direction.

“Republicans Annihilate Democrats in Virginia Election Sweep,” it proclaims. “Republicans scored massive victories in elections held in Virginia on Tuesday, returning two GOP politicians to local legislature following the departure of the incumbents.”

Um, no, that’s not what happened.

Continue reading “Newsweek Goes Off the Rails”
Categories
Historic America Photography

The Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery

The Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery. Photo by M.A. Kleen

Slated for removal before the New Year, you may soon only be able to see this memorial in photographs.

Dedicated in 1914, the 32-foot Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery was designed and sculpted by Moses J. Ezekiel (1844-1917), the first Jewish graduate of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. Ezekiel fought alongside his fellow cadets at the Battle of New Market, which is depicted in the film Field of Lost Shoes (2014). Until recently, nearly every U.S. president since Woodrow Wilson has sent a funeral wreath to be laid at the memorial, as a gesture of reconciliation and respect for the Confederate veterans buried there. After 109 years, it is slated to be removed. There are 32 bronze figures, including soldiers and civilians and two black slaves, one wearing a uniform accompanying his master to war. It is topped with a female statue representing the South. An inscription on the north face reads:

“Not for fame or reward, not for place or for rank, not lured by ambition, or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty as they understood it, these men suffered all, sacrificed all, dared all–and died.”

Randolph Harrison

Moses Ezekiel is buried nearby, as well as 264 other Confederate veterans. The memorial is supposed to be removed before the New Year. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin offered to move it to the New Market Battlefield, but its ultimate fate is unclear.

Categories
Historic America

Gettysburg Campaign – Manassas Gap, July 23, 1863

Twenty days after the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s exhausted Army of Northern Virginia was marching up the Shenandoah Valley, trying to find a safe route into central Virginia. Union Maj. Gen. George G. Meade pursued with the remainder of his Army of the Potomac. The Blue Ridge Mountains separated both armies. Sensing an opportunity, Meade ordered the III Corps, now commanded by William. H. French, to cross the Manassas Gap towards Front Royal. There he hoped to cut off Lee’s escape. Light skirmishing occurred July 21-22, and then on July 23, 1863, French assailed a ridge called Wapping Heights with his entire corps. The ridge was defended by a single brigade of Georgia infantry.

The Georgians fought tenaciously, but they were outnumbered. French’s men captured the ridge and pressed on. Growing darkness, and Confederate reinforcements, checked his advance, however, and the opportunity slipped away. Lee’s army eventually crossed into central Virginia farther south, and the Gettysburg Campaign was officially over. It’s estimated that the belligerents suffered a combined total of over 60,000 casualties, and finished roughly in the same position where it all began. On August 8th, Lee wrote a letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis offering to resign as commander of the army, but Davis refused to accept.

Categories
Historic America

Gettysburg Campaign – Fairfax Court House, June 27, 1863

Photo by Michael Kleen

Following the battles of Aldie, Middleburg, and Upperville in the Loudoun Valley, Confederate cavalry commander Maj. Gen. JEB Stuart received instructions from General Robert E. Lee to “pass around their [the Union] Army without hindrance, doing them all the damage you can, and cross the river east of the mountains.” He left the details up to Stuart’s judgement, and Stuart interpreted them as broadly as possible. He made up his mind to ride around the Union Army, and on June 26, 1863, his troopers moved south and crossed the Occoquan River at Wolf Run Shoals. He then turned north and headed toward Fairfax Courthouse.

On the morning of June 27th, the Union 11th New York Cavalry rode south from the defenses around Washington, DC to investigate rumors of Confederate activity in the area. A detachment ran into Stuart’s advanced units around Fairfax Courthouse and a sharp fight erupted. The surprised Confederates initially retreated, but reformed and counter-attacked, driving the outnumbered Union force away. The Confederates lost 5 killed to the Union’s 4 killed, 14 wounded, and 19 captured.

Categories
Historic America

Gettysburg Campaign – Upperville, June 21, 1863

From June 17 to 19, 1863, Union and Confederate cavalry clashed inconclusively at the battles of Middleburg and Aldie. On June 21st, Union cavalry made another attempt to break through Confederate Maj. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry screen and discover Robert E. Lee’s movements in the Shenandoah Valley. This time, a brigade of infantry commanded by Col. Strong Vincent joined Maj. Gen. Pleasonton’s mounted troopers. J.E.B. Stuart effectively executed a fighting withdrawal, using the terrain to his advantage. Some of the heaviest fighting occurred west of Rector’s Crossroads along Ashby’s Gap Turnpike (today U.S. Route 50) at a stone bridge over Goose Creek, where a two-hour long artillery duel ended with Union Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick’s brigade making a dramatic charge across the bridge. Confederate forces lost 41 killed, 99 wounded, and 99 missing or captured in the day-long skirmish. The Union lost 6 killed, 62 wounded, and 67 missing or captured. Despite Union success in clearing Stuart’s cavalry from the Ashby’s Gap Turnpike, Lee’s infantry continued their northern advance unmolested.