"Beginning in 1776, fallen troops from Washington's Army were buried in the Square. Pits 20 feet by 30 feet in length were dug along 7th and Walnut Streets which were then filled by coffins piled one atop another until space in the mass grave ran out. Long trenches the width of the Square were hastily dug on the Square's south side -- a permanent barracks for the martyrs of the War of Independence. "
"In 1793, the square once again served as a mass graveyard -- this
time for wracked, malodorous victims of the 1793 Yellow Fever epidemic.
Philadelphia was literally decimated by this epidemic: about 5,000 of Philadelphia's
50,000 residents were taken by the Aedes mosquito. Washington Square was
once again pockmarked by stench-filled trenches. "
| Date Of Investigation: 6/16/00
Time: 11:30PM - 1:30AM Weather: clear, mid 70's, 67% humidity, 29.96" barometric presure Solar Activity: M class Flare Geomagnetic Activity: Quiet Moon Phase: Full Location of Investigation: Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA Investigators On Scene: Dave Juliano, Anne Palagruto, John McDougall, Crystal Yankasky, Angelique Giammona, Rosalyn Barber Equipment Used: Olympus 340R Digital Cameras, Cannon Sure Shot 105, Raytech MT4 non-contact thermometer, hand held thermometers, Olympus Stylus 35 mm, ELF-Zone EMF Detectors, tape recorders, Toshiba Digital Camera, Applied Magnetics Lab EMF meter, Olympus Digital Voice recorder, Panasonic Digital Voice recorders, other 35 mm cameras. Film Speed: Kodak 800 Gold, Fuji 400 Video Tapes: 0 Audio tapes: 0 Photos taken: 412 Positive Photos: 24 EVP's: 0 Video: 0 |
"...during the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777, the Walnut Street Jail became a Dantesque vision of hell. Upward of a dozen prisoners died daily. They were hauled across the street and slung in unmarked trenches like carcasses from an abattoir. "
