Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-07
OLD CAPITOL PRISON
Building Famous During War
of the Rebellion.
A HISTORIC SPOT
MANY DISTINGUISHED MEN
WERE OCCUPANTS.
Four Executions Within Its Walls, the
Most Noted Being That Of
Capt. Wirz.

The opprobrious term prisoner" lost
much of it's sting during the war of the re-
bellion period when qualified by military"
or 'of war; Sometimes 1t took very little
to earn the title. and 1T was worn by many
men and women. of more or less fame, be-
tween the years 1861 and 1865. The sudden
acquisition was not always deserved, per-
haps, but. generally speaking, tine man who
was arrested on the charge of enmity to the
Union and the United States government
needed to be stopped very short in his trea-
sonable career.l lest he bring disgrace to him.
self and dishonor to the flag that sheltered
him. If such person could not show clean
bill of health he was pretty sure to get
board at the expense of the government,
in a house surrounded by walls so high
that he found it difficult to look over them,
and with a host so sohcitous that he never
permitted his guests to wander about I'M
attended.
Washington had but one distiuctiyeIy
military prison during the war, though at
various times prisoners Of war were con-
nned In other buildings throughout the city
when the regular institution was full to
overlooking.
The Capitol and White House excepted,
there Is not in the District of Columbia, in
all probability. more historic spot than
the old Capitol prison. The land upon
which it eventually stood was part of the
farm OF Daniel Carroll, and was one of the
OLD land grants When the first proprie-
tors OF Washington and the United States
made their DEAL this particular parcel of
land became one of the public reserva tons
AT the very first sale of Washington zeal
estate the whole square, having been divid-
ed into lots. was sold. the and 1st street
corner lot being purchased by Lund Wash
lnSton. and sold in less than year to
George Walker.
70 1t was transferred from one party to an
other until in 1904, it was purchased bv
William Tunnecliffe, who built upon it a big
three-story house, which became famous as
the Tunecliffe Hotel. 1t was then sold to
Pontius ID. STEELE. a celebrated boniface but
ne could not make the business of keeping
boarderS pay, and it was sold for debts
passing into the hands of Peter Miller The
great house lost money for everybody who
touched 1t, and at last, in 1872 it fell into
the hands of the original owner of the
land, Daniel Carroll. 1t continued to sink
money for him. so ne closed it's DOORS nailed
up its shutters and left it to embrace decay
The audacious British saved old Time the
trouble of razing it, however for after
burning the Capitol, with its wealth of
books and valuable old papers, they set
their torches to the luckless hotel and
burned it to the ground
Company Organized.
OF course, with the. Capitol in ruins Con-
gress needed home. At that time there
was lively competition for the national
capital, and delay in housing Congress ade-
quately meant absolute ruin to the people
who had planted their hopes in its reten-
ton at Washington. for other cities were
making strenuous bids for it. There were