Fort Mifflin Investigation


Location: Philadelphia, PA.

Date: Friday January 20, 2006, 8:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m.

Moon Phase: Between waning gibbous and last quarter.

Solar Weather: Flares normal, geomagnetic field quiet.

Investigators present: Hillary M., Paul M., John M., Randy G., Robert H., guest investigators Cheryl and Jennifer.

Equipment: Olympus C-3000 digital camera, four Sony digital video cameras with Nightshot and IR extenders, Extech EMF meter, Olympus DS-1 Digital Voice Recorder, Extech IR thermometer, Kodak digital camera, 2 Panasonic digital voice recorders, 2 remote sensor 35mm cameras, Olympus C-4000 digital camera, Olympus 2000 digital voice recorder, Canon PowerShot S2 IS digital camera.

History: After Washington's defeat at Brandywine in 1777, a force of 20,000 British and Hessian troops marched into Philadelphia, led by General William Howe. With the Colonial Army weakened, Howe could have attacked them west of the city and wiped them out -- probably defeating the Revolution -- but his own forces had run short of supplies. The supplies were waiting on the Delaware on a fleet of ships.
  Before General Howe arrived with his 20,000, the rebels, led by General Thomas Mifflin, had occupied and strengthened the partially built British fort that guarded the waterways. The British attacked Mifflin's stronghold, and around November 16, 1777, Fort Mifflin finally fell. As well as inflicting severe casualties upon the British, however, the Colonists accomplished their mission: the British supply ships were delayed. Winter had set in, and General Howe was unable to attack Washington's troops.
  Restored in 1795, Fort Mifflin was again manned during the War of 1812, though it saw no action. During the Civil War it was used as a prison camp. The Fort was disarmed in 1904.
  The above information was taken from http://www.fieldtrip.com/pa/54923395.htm

Philadelphia Inquirer article regarding the siege of Fort Mifflin: http://www.11thpa.org/elk_news_7.html

Investigation: John, Randy, Cheryl, Jennifer and I arrived at the Fort at 8:00 p.m. (Robert and Paul arrived a few hours later.) We immediately split up into two groups. Cheryl, Jennifer and I (group 1) went into the casemates and set up an infrared video camera in the hallway. John and Randy (group 2) went into the Officer's Quarters. Group 1 started in casemate #5. We recorded there for 25 minutes but obtained no positive photos or recordings, so we moved into casemate #1 at 8:40. Here, Cheryl saw an orb moving over the wooden bunks away from her with her naked eye. After 20 minutes, we left the casemates.
  On the way to the Soldier's barracks I called group 2 on the two-way radio. This is when a very excited John and Randy told me that we missed the event of the night. When we met John and Randy in the barracks a few minutes later, they recounted their experience which can be read here. They insisted that we go over to the second floor of the officer's quarters to record next.
  At 9:20, we headed over to Elizabeth Pratt's room in the Officer's quarters. During this time we did obtain an EVP, but no positive photos. Next, we held EVP sessions in the powder magazine, the artillery shed, and the sally port.
  When Paul and Robert arrived around 11:30, we took a long break and asked Wayne (the caretaker) to give us a full tour. Next, we all headed over to the Officer's quarters where group 2 had so much success earlier in the night. John, Randy, Cheryl and   Jennifer went upstairs to Elizabeth Pratt's room while Robert, Paul, and I stayed in the downstairs room right under it. After that we conducted group sessions in the casemates, the torpedo magazine, and the powder magazine before going back one more time to the Officer's quarters. We left the fort just before 6:00 a.m.

Conclusions: The fort seemed to me to be very inactive this night. I witnessed nothing unusual the entire night, and only obtained a few positive photos. If it were not for Randy and John's extraordinary experience, I would have considered the night to be a dud. Upon reviewing our recordings, though, we were pleased to find that we did get a couple good EVPs. I still believe this fort to be very active, even if I don't witness the activity with my own eyes. We hope to investigate this fort further in 2007.

We wish to thank the employees and volunteers at Fort Mifflin for allowing us to conduct this investigation.

Submitted by Hillary Murdoch