I 



On the night of Dec. 30, 1812, a small boat sailed out of the harbor at 

 Georgetown, S.C. Aboard was Theodosia Burr Alston, the young wife of Gov. 

 Joseph Alston. She was going to New York to visit her father, the notorious 

 Aaron Burr. The onetime vice president of the United States had been the victor 

 in a fatal duel with Alexander Hamilton, his political enemy. Following the duel, 

 Burr was arrested and tried for treason. He was acquitted, but feelings ran so 

 high against him that he moved to France for four years. In 1812, his daughter 

 convinced him to return. He waited anxiously for her ship to meet him, but it 

 never arrived. 



Many years later, two criminals awaiting execution in Norfolk, Va., swore 

 they'd been among a pirate crew that had captured the boat and forced everyone 

 aboard to walk the plank. Another crew member later claimed to have been 

 haunted for years by the memory of a beautiful young woman who pleaded for 

 her life so that she could visit her father in New York. 



Some think that Theodosia was taken ashore by pirates at Smith Island (now 

 Bald Head), where she drowned after dashing into the ocean. The guards were 

 said to have been hanged for her escape, and their ghosts are seen at midnight on 

 the island searching for their captive. 



During World War II, two Coast Guardsmen were patrolling the Bald Head 

 beaches when they saw a woman in a long flowing dress disappear into thin air. 

 She reappeared several nights later, and a guardsman fired his gun. The bullet 

 seemed to pass right through her. 



An old fisher told the guardsmen who she was. At the beginning of the war, 

 he had seen her crying and pointing to the sea. The next morning, they found a 

 wrecked tanker that had been hit by an enemy torpedo. The fisher believed 

 Theodosia was giving a warning, perhaps in an effort to prove that Burr family 

 members were patriots and not traitors. 



Such stories of Theodosia have persisted for 200 years. 



— Haunted Wilmington and the Cape Fear Coast 



I 



.n 1882, three Italian-immigrant street musicians left New York for 

 Wilmington in search of a better life. Among them was harpist Antonio 

 Caseletta, who brought along his young wife and child. The musicians were 

 penniless but optimistic about their future — and with good cause. A local 

 captain helped them find work at Hotel Brunswick in Smifhville (now 

 Southport), a place popular with summer guests for its music and dances. The 

 trio did well and often stayed at the waterfront inn because of the late hours they 

 worked. But Tony made frequent trips back to Wilmington to visit his wife and 

 child, who still lived there. 



On the morning of April 23, according to a newspaper account, Tony kissed 



Continued 



8 AUTUMN 1997 



