Military Officer - October 2007 - (Page 58)

— but battleﬁelds are not the sole venue of these restless spirits. Ghosts from this nation’s rich military history also have been known to haunt the high seas and the homes of prominent military leaders. The number of stories surrounding Civil War battleﬁelds might cause people to wonder why this war produced so many hauntings. It could be because the loss of life was unprecedented in U.S. history. Another possibility is the stories arose from soldiers’ guilt and the desire to honor fallen brothers. Or maybe these legends helped the countless loved ones left behind cope with loss. However, it’s worth noting that a decade before the Civil War began, the spiritualism movement had taken root in the U.S. A basic tenet of spiritualism is the possibility of communicating with the dead. The strength of the spiritualism movement in the U.S., coupled with the war’s carnage, might explain the number of battleﬁeld ghost stories from this uniquely American conﬂict. sounded like a large unit of soldiers. He heard them utter: “Now?” “Not yit!” in hushed tones and what sounded like a Southern drawl. As suddenly as they had begun, the noises ceased and the normal nighttime sounds returned. Den of the devil: Hauntings galore Named for its labyrinth of massive boulders, Devil’s Den, in Gettysburg, Pa., was the site of ﬁerce ﬁghting, with heavy casualties on both sides. There are reports of units with casualty rates well above 50 percent and tales of exposed sharpshooters shot from their stations, only to climb up and resume their grim task again. All this ﬁghting seems to have left some spirits behind. According to one legend, a visitor became disoriented in the maze of rocks and encountered “sort of a hippie — long hair, ragged clothes, big ﬂoppy hat.” The hippie pointed and said, “What you look for is over there.” Another visitor to Devil’s Den photographed the site. According to the story, when he snapped the photo, no one was in sight — but the developed photograph showed a man resembling the described hippie. Yet another story recalls a group of visiting dignitaries standing on Little Round Top in Gettysburg, looking down over the battleﬁeld that was the site of Confederate Gen. George Pickett’s ill-fated charge and watching what appeared to be a group of reenactors maneuvering below. After completing its demonstration, the unit marched off and disappeared into the trees. The impressed visitors thanked the park ofﬁcials — and learned there had been no reenactors that day. Over the years, other visitors have reported seeing this phantom regiment. And between Little Round Top and Devil’s Den is the Valley of Death (a name ﬁtting for ghost hauntings). Spirits of Antietam Antietam. The name alone is a chilling reminder of the single bloodiest day of ﬁghting during the Civil War. The dead and wounded for both sides approached 25,000 in less than 24 hours Sept. 17, 1862. Close combat was the rule, and death was violent. In Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s ﬁrst foray north into Union territory, his Army of Northern Virginia and the Union’s Army of the Potomac clashed on this Maryland battleﬁeld. Years later, a visitor to the battleﬁeld stood at Sunken Road where Gen. John B. Gordon’s Confederate soldiers lay in wait to surprise the Union troops. At one point, he relates, the sounds of the night ceased — no rustling trees, no chirping crickets. The summer air was still, heavy, and hot. Then the visitor saw movement and heard what 58 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2007 According to one park ranger, on moonlit nights when a low mist covers the ground, a Civil War ofﬁcer on horseback can be seen moving slowly across the rocky terrain. Wearing his magniﬁcent uniform, he is missing only one thing — his head. George Washington — at Gettysburg? Shortly after the war, Civil War veterans told the story of George

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Military Officer - October 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: A Hero's Welcome? Partners in Patriotism Tales from Beyond the Battlefield Financial Results of MOAA Pages of History Information Exchange Faces of MOAA Member Books MOAA Scholarship Donors Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - October 2007

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