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On a
balmy afternoon in June of 1863, Federal General John Buford peered through his
binoculars across a field just west of the town of Gettysburg. He was perplexed
as he gazed at a column of Confederate soldiers marching along Chambersburg
Pike. He knew this body of men was too large for a raiding party; what he
didn’t know was that they were an advance element of Confederate General
Heth’s division. What he didn’t know was that he was to be the general to
instigate the pivotal battle of the American Civil War. What he didn’t know
was that three days later, fifty three thousand men would soak the fields red
with the blood of the dead and dying.
It is with little wonder that an abundance of ghost sightings are reported time
and again from visitors who frequent the town and battlefield year after year.
It is as well with little wonder that Gettysburg has obtained the reputation of
being the most haunted place in America. Even the skeptics who refuse to believe
even in the possibility of ghosts, won’t refute the possibility of this
haunted locale. Could that be due to the magnitude of the historical event?
Could it be the reverence of this hallowed ground by students of history and
John Q. Public? Could it even be that the ardent skeptic will unknowingly open
themselves up to the possibility with the mind numbing knowledge of the macabre
event which took place 136 years ago.
On July 1, 1863, what began as a skirmish soon escalated into a heated battle
with the arrival of Federal General John Reynolds’ infantry. The Confederates
pressed, and soon found the Union troops retreating chaotically towards the
little town. The streets were thick with soldiers as the Federals retreated
toward a
designated rallying point just beyond town at Cemetery Hill and Culps
Hill. Confederate sharpshooters took up positions through out as their prey was
easy and plentiful. Some took position in the Farnsworth House, a small home
situated along Baltimore Pike. Their perch was magnificent due to the locale on
the main road through town. They mercilessly fired upon retreating soldiers,
often hitting their mark. The streets were strewn with dead.
Today, the Farnsworth house functions as a Bed & Breakfast. Bullet holes can
still be seen on the southside wall. It is here that many guests report seeing
an apparition at the end of the bed during the night, while other guests have
reported doors opening and closing through their own volition. One woman
incredulously has reported her infant being lifted by unseen hands and gently
placed back down.
A local radio station wished to broadcast via remote one Halloween in
particular. They contacted a local author/historian who in turn contacted a
renowned psychic. As airtime approached at 6:00 am, the crew needed to tap into
the phone lines for the broadcast. The crew needed to run cables to another
sight since all phone lines were down at the Farnsworth. No lights, no dial
tone, nothing. As the psychic toured the house to gain impressions, she got the
distinct feeling that someone was trying to convey concern that traitors were
about, and they didn’t want their position given away. It was realized later
that the radio crew was wearing all blue. Blue shirts, and blue jeans. They also
referred to their contact at the radio station as “ The Captain”. Could
those Confederate lost souls have misconstrued the presence of these individuals
as Federal soldiers?
The time had come for the crew to depart to a different area of town while
continuing their broadcast. As they were leaving, every light on the phone began
flashing desperately, and then reducing to one intercom light. As the psychic
picked up the receiver, she heard no one and hung up. The light began flashing
with desperation again, while the psychic picked up the receiver. This time she
spoke aloud to an unseen visitor. She instructed this poor individual to move
on, that he didn’t need to be a soldier anymore. As they left, the light
continued to blink. Perhaps this soul was unable to let go.
The group continued down the street to the Jennie Wade House. It was here that
the only civilian casualty was to meet her fate. As twenty-year old Jennie baked
bread for Union troops, a bullet ripped through the door, striking her down in
an instant. Given the danger outside, the family and soldiers removed a wall and
carried the body to the basement. Jennie was to lie in state for the duration of
the battle while her family grieved and took refuge in the cellar. A beautiful
young woman who lost her life before she could find out the fate of her beloved
fiancé; sergeant Johnston (Jack) Skelly, killed in a battle near Winchester.
The unlucky individual who had the unfortunate task to inform her was a
childhood friend, Wesley Culp, who had joined a Virginia militia and therefore
went to war with the Confederacy. Wesley found Jack wounded and dying as a
prisoner of war and swore he would deliver the horrible message. He never had
the opportunity. Early on July 3 1863, Wesley himself would meet his demise;
struck down upon the hill bearing his family name; Culps Hill.
As the radio crew and psychic approached the house, she immediately sensed
uneasiness. Many visitors before have felt the same while some refused to enter
the cellar. Still, others would leave hurriedly while video cameras that worked
without flaw prior to the basement, will record nothingness. As the psychic
relayed the presence of at least three souls, a feeling of torment prevailed.
The group began to ascend the stairs and when she halted along with the house
manager, the chain separating the visitor area and the spot where Jennie laid
began to swing. The movement was odd, for it swung as if it were a solid wire.
For a full minute, the chain swung like this as other members of the group
quickly descended the stairs. The chain stopped swinging abruptly, deliberately.
The morning of July 2 1863 awoke with the battle lines drawn. The Federal lines
extended from Spangler’s Spring and Culps Hill southward to a hill known as
Little Round Top, resembling that of a fish hook. The Confederate lines
paralleled the Union lines about a mile away. Confederate General Robert E. Lee
ordered simultaneous attacks on both the left and right flanks. Confederate
Texans under General John Bell Hood assaulted with wave after wave through the
Triangular Field, across the Devils Den and up the rocky height of the Little
Round Top. It was here that Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the
20th Maine Regiment made his lionhearted stance. With fewer than thirty percent
of his original regiment, and dry of ammunition, he ordered a bayonet charge
against the Confederates, taking them utterly by surprise, thus preserving the
Union left flank.
The Triangular Field , situated one hundred yards southwest of the Devils Den is
notorious for supernatural activity. It is common for recording equipment to
either malfunction or cease to work at all. Visitors have reported the sounds of
gunshots and drum rolls emanating from the wooded area of the field. Others have
reported the apparitions of sharpshooters among the tree line, taking careful
aim at an enemy absent for over a century. The local author/historian mentioned
earlier, escorted a television camera crew out to the field for a special on
Gettysburg ghosts. A prior equipment check showed everything was in working
order. At the moment they entered the field, all equipment malfunctioned. As
they exited the field, the cameras began working again. They entered and exited
the field numerous times, only to have this bizarre pattern continue. As they
filmed the field just outside of it’s perimeter, they were disappointed to
learn that no film recorded of the field itself came out.
The Devils Den is a large patch of rocks where many Confederate sharpshooters
took refuge in order to exact their death toll upon Union officers atop the
hills of Little and Big Round Tops. In 1970, a tourist approached a park ranger
and inquired about stories of Gettysburg being haunted. The Park Service cannot
answer such questions but the ranger asked ‘why?’ The woman stated as she
was taking photographs of the Devils Den, a man suddenly appeared beside her and
said, “What you’re looking for is over there.” Pointing northeast
toward the Plum Run, she turned to look and the man vanished. The ranger asked
for a description, and she felt he looked ragged and like that of a hippie.
Barefooted with torn butternut shirt and trousers, wearing a big floppy hat.
This was often the attire of Confederate Texans. A few weeks later, the same
ranger was approached by yet another visitor with the same question. The man
said he was taking pictures and a man mentioned to look elsewhere and
disappeared. His description was identical to the woman’s.
The Little Round Top is an unimpressive hill overlooking the Devils Den and the
wheatfield. As the extreme left flank of the Federal lines, it has had its share
of carnage. During the filming of the movie Gettysburg, many re-enactors would
find themselves with some down time. Although the movie was not filmed on the
battlefield, it was not uncommon for these extras to walk upon the battlefield
in their period uniforms. One small group of men found themselves atop the Round
Top, admiring the view as the sun began to set. A rustling of the leaves behind
them alerted them to the presence of a stranger. From the brush emerged a rather
haggard looking old man, dressed as a Union private. The man was filthy and
smelled of sulfur, a key ingredient of the black powder used in 1863. He walked
up to the men and as he handed them a few musket rounds, he said “Rough one
today, eh boys?” He turned and walked away. As the re-enactors looked upon the
musket rounds, they looked up to see the man had vanished. When they brought the
rounds into town, they were authenticated as original rounds 130 years old! Many
visitors have reported the smell of gunpowder, and have heard gunshots and
screams from the Little Round Top over the years.
Friday, July 3 1863 was a new day already polluted with the stench of death and
war. For two days, 175,000 men have engaged in the bloodiest battle before or
since on the American continent. The morning was somewhat uneventful, with the
exception of some fighting at Culps Hill; which had ended by late morning. At
1:00 p.m., 140 Confederate cannon opened fire on the Union center. For two
hours, the largest cannonade ever witnessed pounded the Federal lines. So fierce
was the shelling, that one could not see across the mile of open field to
ascertain whether or not their targets have been hit. So loud was the shelling
that the attack was heard in Washington DC; some 80 miles away. This was the
preamble for one of the most infamous military events. This was the preamble for
what was to become known as Pickett’s Charge. After the second hour of the
cannonade was up, some 12,000 Confederate infantrymen emerged from the woods.
Formed in battle line, they began the deadly march across the mile of open
field. How the Union soldiers must have gazed wide eyed as 12,000 fixed bayonets
glistened in the summer sun, all preparing to converge on a single stretch of
stone wall known as The Angle. Long range cannon fire sent explosive shells into
the rebel ranks. As they neared, the artillerymen changed to canister shot; a
typed of buckshot fired from a cannon. Closer still the rebels marched; closing
holes in the line left by soldiers killed en masse. A deafening musketry
opened from the Yankee lines behind cover of the stone wall. Still, the
Confederates came. As the survivors reached the stone wall, brutal hand to hand
combat ensued, but alas, the rebels, tired and outnumbered quickly lost
momentum.
The entire charge lasted less than an hour. In that time, 10,000 Confederates
lay dead and dying. With the failure of the charge, the battle ended. Robert E.
Lee retreated back into Virginia. Thus ended Lee’s second invasion of the
north. Thus ended the Confederacy’s hope for independence. Although the war
would continue for two more years, the Army of Northern Virginia would
never fully recover from this loss.
The Angle is a beautifully maintained area of landscape. One can still look out
across the field from where Pickett’s Charge originated. A park ranger while
on routine patrol one night noticed a man on horseback. As the rider neared, the
ranger wondered who would be on the battlefield so late; on horseback. Upon
closer inspection, the ranger noticed the attire of the rider. It was that of a
Civil War officer although the allegiance could not be ascertained. The unknown
horseman approached to within 10 feet of the car and promptly disappeared. Other
visitors have reported the sound of galloping horses in the immediate area of
The Angle, although none were present. Sounds of the cannonade have permeated
through time as people report hearing the thunderous roar of battle. One visitor
even reported seeing Robert E. Lee himself, sitting atop his horse, Traveller,
on the opposite side of the field. A resident of Gettysburg, and amateur
ghosthunter mentions that during a stroll across the field on a warm summer
night, cold spots were common. Going from balmy humidity to sudden cold, so cold
he could see his breath, the fellow continued the path of Pickett’s
infantrymen.
Although there are literally hundreds of ghostly tales concerning Gettysburg,
one must wonder how many more stories are out there. Surely, not everyone who
has experienced such phenomenon has reported it. Even to walk the field,
especially at night or early morning, when the crowds have gone; one can feel
the energy, the aura of this most hallowed ground. A truly humbling experience
as one contemplates the enormity of this event. Do the dead look at us with
equaled wonderment? Are they forever trapped in a pocket of time, a nightmare
from which they cannot awake? The ghosts are there, you can feel them. You can
feel the event if you allow yourself, as this ground has been consecrated by the
blood of tens of thousands.
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