“But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion”
“The Gettysburg Address,” Abraham Lincoln
Welcome to the Eerie USA Podcast
I’m your host author Evan Camby. I write horror and suspense books and I’m the creator of this podcast where we discuss American legends, hauntings, and folklore. In today’s episode, we’re going to visit one of our most storied and hallowed battlegrounds, Gettysburg Pennsylvania, and the many restless spirits believed to still walk its blood stained earth.
The History
President Lincoln was correct when he said we could never forget what the soldiers at Gettysburg did. It was one of the most pivotal moments in our nation’s history, and also one of our bloodiest. For that reason, I’m going to delve into the history of this location a bit more than I usually do. Fought from July 1 through July 3, 1863, the decisive Union victory was a major turning point in a bitter, bloody, and emotionally charged civil war. With more than 50,000 estimated casualties, those three days were the bloodiest single battle of the conflict. Since 165,620 forces were engaged, that means for every three soldiers, one was a casualty of the battle.
Gettysburg ended Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s second attempt to invade the North and bring the Civil War to an end. The loss ended the hopes of the so-called Confederate States of America to become its own independent nation.
While it might seem unlikely to us today that the Confederacy could ever have successfully invaded the North, Gettysburg came after a year of defensive Confederate victories in Virginia. Lee had hoped that, by winning a battle north of the Mason-Dixon line, it would force a negotiated end to the fighting. Of course, the writing was on the wall after the loss at Gettysburg, and Lee fled south with a wagon train of wounded soldiers making their way towards the Potomac. Unfortunately, the Union failed to pursue them, missing what some military experts note as a critical opportunity to trap Lee and force a Confederate surrender. The bitterly divisive, deadly war dragged on for another two years until Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Virginia Courthouse on April 9, 1865.
But the effects of the civil war, and the tragic aftermath of slavery went on for many, many more years. From 1865 to 1877, the government took on the challenges of reintegrating the South back into the Union and determining the legal status of formerly enslaved black Americans during what’s now known as the Reconstruction era. It was anything but an overnight process and, in many ways, there are battles we’re still fighting today.
Gettysburg represents this ongoing struggle well, because when it comes to the hallowed battlefield and town, many believe that some of its soldiers are still fighting as well.
The Haunting
Gettysburg was held at the battlefields just off of what is now known as Baltimore Pike. The restless spirits of those soldiers on both sides of the fence are said to be unaware that the battle has ended and that time has moved on without them. Some even say that, acre for acre, there is no place more haunted in the United States than Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Visitors and residents alike have reported experiencing a wide variety of paranormal phenomena over the years, including: sightings of ghostly regiments, phantom horsemen, and even faces and figures mysteriously appearing in photographs taken by unsuspecting tourists. These Civil War apparitions have inspired the idea that the spirits of the battle’s many casualties were so disturbed by the violence and trauma that, in death, their spirits are trapped. Some are confused, some are heartbroken, still others are looking for victory or redemption. There are even rumors of exorcisms that have taken place on the battlegrounds—yet the spirits remain.
Because of the age of the battlefield itself, it may be true that some of the more famous ghost stories have been passed around like a game of telephone and, at this point, are more based in legend than actual firsthand knowledge. But if that’s the case, how do we explain the numerous experiences that visitors have reported in the second half of the twentieth century, and continue to report today?
One of Gettysburg’s oldest, and some might say strangest, ghost stories began during the famous battle itself. According to the legend, some Union troops reported seeing General George Washington—dead since 1799—riding his horse in an apparent attempt to lead them to victory. While this sounds like propaganda or perhaps even motivation for Union troops who sought to emphasize their belief that our first president would have certainly been on their side, other ghost stories surrounding Gettysburg are more perplexing.
Haunted Sites
Now a national historic site, there are various older buildings within Gettysburg National Military Park which are used to house park rangers. At the time of the battle, the sheer number of the wounded and dying meant that nearly all of the nearby homes and businesses were, at one point, used during the battle as makeshift field hospitals and shelters. Some theorize that these traumatic events have resulted in the widely reported paranormal phenomena at Gettysburg. Many of these rangers have reported experiencing strange manifestations, including unexplained crying, the sounds of footsteps with no one else around, and the smell of tobacco when no one was smoking.
The Herr Tavern
The Herr Tavern, an Inn built in 1815, was used as the first Confederate field hospital at Gettysburg. Amputations were so commonplace that they allegedly resulted in limbs being thrown through the windows to be collected later. Unfortunately, due to unsanitary conditions and rampant disease, amputation rarely worked to save lives, and many of the soldiers died after the procedures. Today, it’s said that four of the guest rooms at the Herr Tavern are haunted, and the rooms are purposely numbered so that there is no room 13, thought to be an unlucky number in hotels across the world.
Dobbin House Inn
The Dobbin House Inn is an old stone house that was famously once a stopping point on the Underground Railroad. Enslaved people who once hid were forced to conceal themselves for lengthy periods in tiny, secret hiding places located beneath the floor and in the walls of the inn building. Those hiding places still exist and can be viewed by modern visitors as a stark reminder of this dark time in our history.
As far as the hauntings of The Dobbin House Inn go, some believe that the ghost of the Inn’s owner and founder, Alexander Dobbin, appears at various places throughout the inn, typically smoking a cigar. In addition, it is believed that some of those who came to this house in search of freedom and safety may have returned here after death, or perhaps the spirits of some who didn’t survived their flight to reach this place may have eventually arrived anyway and stayed at the place which promised refuge from the cruelties of slavery.
Spectral visions of of enslaved people and the ghosts of soldiers have been seen haunting the building. Even more disturbing, unexplained blood stains are said to manifest on the floorboards at night, only to disappear as the dawn breaks.
The George Weikert House
The George Weikert House is another building that served an important purpose during the battle. One of several farms of the family, the George Weikert House served as a field hospital just like Herr Tavern. And like Herr Tavern, many amputations were performed there, and hundreds of soldiers died either from their wounds or the surgery itself. According to the Weikert family history, six men died in the parlor, and the yard was filled with graves. Eventually, when the buried were exhumed to be placed in the National Cemetery, the missing parlor rug was found, cut into strips as the top and bottom layers of the burial trench.
Since the war, the George Weikert House has had many different occupants, and several of them have stories to tell about their experiences with the paranormal. One of the previous residents of the house claimed that a door on the second floor refused to stay closed, no matter what they did to it. One park ranger even nailed the door shut, and yet it somehow opened again. Other occupants have reported the sounds of footsteps pacing back and forth in the attic, as if the heavy tread of boots were crossing above their heads. Then, the boots would cross back, as if the person above them were pacing while in deep thought. Of course, when the residents would go upstairs to check, the would find nothing and no one.
The Rose Farm
Another family farm used as a field hospital and burial ground was Rose Farm. Like at the George Weikert House, hundreds of soldiers were treated and later buried around the house and property. They were exhumed in November 1863, although the claiming of the bodies and re-burials were processes that took many years.
According to a local doctor named Dr. J.W.C. O’Neil, and reported by author Mark Nesbitt, one of the daughters on the Rose Farm lost her mind during the exhumations, traumatized from having lived through the battle and its aftermath in her own home. She claimed to have seen blood actually flowing from the walls of the house. Today, we might say she suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, and was reliving the days when the house served as a hospital. It’s easy to imagine that with thousands of amputations, at one point or another the walls would have become bloodied.
These are but a few examples of the haunted buildings that still stand from the Battle of Gettysburg. There are undoubtedly many others which served as hospitals and refuges for soldiers that have been lost to time, along with graves that remain unknown to this day. Haunted buildings are common in every part of the world, but there are certainly a higher concentration of them in and around the battlefields of Gettysburg.
Beyond the buildings, on the grass which once absorbed the blood of tens of thousands of soldiers, there are numerous tales of paranormal phenomena. Full body apparitions—soldiers riding horses and marching in formation—and horrible sounds— the groaning cries of the wounded and the shouting of commands issued in the heat of battle—have been reported in various areas of the battleground for more than one hundred years.
Iverson’s Pits
One of the oldest allegedly haunted sites of Gettysburg is Iverson’s Pits, an open field of nondescript farmland bordered on one side by a low stone wall, where supernatural phenomena has been reported as far back as the late 19th century. Since the fighting, tales of ghostly figures and mysterious lights have marked Iverson’s Pits. In a battle which saw enormous suffering and bloodshed, Iverson’s Pits stands out as a site of exceptional brutality. A hapless North Carolina brigade led by Brigadier General Alfred Iverson had only recently arrived at Gettysburg and were tasked to outflank the Union First Corps at Oak Hill, the northernmost point of Seminary Ridge. Iverson, either through incompetence or over-confidence, failed to deploy the proper defense to prevent an ambush, and within minutes, more than nine hundred of his brigade lay dying in the grass. The few still standing fled the field, leaving their wounded comrades behind. Iverson suffered a nervous breakdown shortly afterwards and was relieved of his command, banished for life from ever leading in the military again. Locals began calling the area “Iverson’s Pits,” and for years afterward, the owner of the property claimed that the wheat always grew tallest in that part of his field.
Not long after the battle, the bodies were interred in rows of hastily dug trenches, basically in the same spots where they fell. As time went on and the grass settled, the field was visibly marked with sunken rows, a stark reminder of the field’s deadly past. Though the bodies have long since been exhumed and returned to the South, for decades after the battle, the owner of the property claimed that his farmhands were terrorized by the ghosts of soldiers, and they refused to remain on the property after sunset.
Devil’s Den
On the grounds of the battlefield lies a natural rock formation known as Devil’s Den, which many believe has the highest concentration of paranormal phenomena in all of Gettysburg.
Although the Civil War made Devil’s Den famous, strange stories plagued the area for years beforehand. The site got its name because local residents long ago once believed a snake lived there ranging anywhere from 8 to 15 feet long, earning the nickname “The Devil.” Some early accounts of the area recall that the tangled outcropping of rocks was a hunting ground for Native Americans for centuries, and there are even reports that a huge battle was fought there predating Gettysburg, known as “The Battle of the Crows.” Early settlers reported hearing war cries and seeing the ghosts of Native American warriors, and there are stories that this was a site sacred to some native tribes. There is a theory that the scattered rocks are the remnants of a tall pyramid or structure built by Native Americans centuries ago. The area had long been considered a desolate and spooky place, and many settlers felt that it had an overall ominous vibe. While some believed that the rocks marked the entrance to a cave or cavern, no cave actually exists at the location, but the rocks are piled so high that the crevices between them give the illusion of deep, dark tunnels.
During Gettysburg, the terrain and piles of rocks created a maze for troops on both sides of the battle. As lines broke, the fight became man against man, and the large boulders helped provide hiding places as well as ambush spots. Soldiers ducked behind the rocks, running from boulder and shooting as they ran. Like many battles of the Civil War, the soldiers didn’t know if the person on the other side would be friend or foe, stranger or kin.
The Confederate forces overwhelmed the Union at Devil’s Den for a time and took control of the ridge, but the victory was short-lived. The Union forces counter-charged and some Maine and Pennsylvania troops succeeded in pushing the Confederates back. By the end of the battle, the rocks of Devil’s Den had become a bloody pit of the dead, and the dead remained unburied for several days or up to several weeks. After fighting was over, some Confederate soldiers were ordered to stand guard at night. Many of them described Devil’s Den as strange and unnerving—as if it was an unnatural, shared space of the living and the dead.
Today, Devil’s Den is located in the Triangular Field, where cameras and electronic equipment are said to rarely work, within the larger Valley of Death, the area where apparitions of soldiers are frequently reported. Visitors to this area of Gettysburg battlefield have reported hearing the sounds of drums and gunshots, as well as spotting a barefoot, shabbily dressed man. Some even claim the man attempted to give them directions, and one visitor said he tried to hold their hand. One of the most repeated stories of Devil’s Den is that, when visitors try to take pictures, there is often some type of camera malfunction which prevents them from capturing their shot.
Gettysburg College
Another reputedly haunted area around the battlefield is the campus of Gettysburg College, where there are claims of a ghostly Confederate sentry still standing guard overlooking the campus. But my personal favorite story concerns an elevator located in an administrative office building now known as Pennsylvania Hall, and which existed in 1837.
Author Mark Nesbitt told of of two college administrators who were working on the fourth floor of the building one night. As they were leaving, they stepped into the elevator, pressing the button which would lead them to the first floor. Instead of taking them to their destination, the elevator passed it and came to a stop at the basement level. The administrators watched in horror as the elevator doors then opened to a terrible scene.
The modern day basement storage room had vanished, and in its place was a blood-splattered operating room of 1863. Wounded soldiers were lying on the floor, and doctors and orderlies in bloody clothing tended to them. Thought it was obviously a chaotic scene, the witnesses reported that the entire basement was completely silent.
Shocked and terrified, the administrators repeatedly pushed at the elevator button, desperate to close the doors and escape the grisly scene before them. Just before the doors closed, they both said that one of the spectral orderlies looked directly at them with pleading eyes, as though desperate for help.
In Conclusion
As President Lincoln once said, the soldiers themselves consecrated the grounds at Gettysburg, there is nothing we can do to add to it or subtract from it. One of the bloodies battles of a war which remains a painful part of America’s past—it is a kind of wound on our nation’s collective soul, and it remains to be seen whether the wound will ever completely heal. Interest in the ghosts of Gettysburg remains as strong as ever, more than one hundred and fifty years after the battle and war ended. In addition to the battlefield itself, a visit to Gettysburg National Park offers the opportunity to see the more than thirteen hundred monuments on the battlefield. It is currently one of the most popular destinations not just for historical tourism but paranormal tourism in the country. Today, eight separate companies offer ghost tours at Gettysburg—some seasonally, others year-round.
Based on the grip the battle and its spirits have on us, we might say that Gettysburg haunts us as much as the restless soldiers still haunt its hallowed grounds.
I’ll leave you with some words from the 1974 Pulitzer prize-winning book The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara, a historical novel based on the Battle of Gettysburg:
“Chamberlain closed his eyes and saw it again. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. No book or music would have that beauty. He did not understand it: a mile of men flowing slowly, steadily, inevitably up the long green ground, dying all the while, coming to kill you, and the shell bursts appearing above them like instant white flowers, and the flags all tipping and fluttering, and dimly you could hear the music and the drums, and then you could hear the officers screaming, and yet even above your own fear came the sensation of unspeakable beauty…So this is tragedy. Yes. He nodded. In the presence of real tragedy you feel neither pain nor joy nor hatred, only a sense of enormous space and time suspended, the great doors open to black eternity, the rising across the terrible field of that last enormous, unanswerable question.”
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Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Eerie USA Podcast. Make sure to subscribe to the show so you never miss an episode. Consider supporting us on Patreon at patreon.com/EvanCamby where I share one exclusive piece of behind the scenes content every Friday.
For more scary stories, check out my books on Amazon. My horror story collection, “Walking After Midnight: Tales for Halloween” available on Amazon, and the entire series is available in ebook and paperback formats for less than the price of 2 cups of coffee.
Join us for the next episode where we’ll be visiting Waverly Hills Sanitarium, one of America’s most infamously haunted former hospitals. Until next time, I’m your host Evan Camby, bringing you America’s forgotten places and forgotten people.
Show Notes:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghosts_of_the_American_Civil_War
“Ghosts of Gettysburg: Spirits, Apparitions and Haunted Places of the Battlefield,” Mark Nesbitt
https://www.americanhauntingsink.com/gettysburg
“The Gettysburg Address,” President Abraham Lincoln
Music Credits:
Hidden Past” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Classic Horror 1″ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
“Zombie Hoodoo” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/