Gettysburg VI:
Every year, before the Gettysburg Ghost Conference, I try to write something about the battlefields of Gettysburg to share knowledge with those who have never experienced actually being there. It seems that every year, almost everyone who attends the event, experiences something of a paranormal nature. Were they not understanding what happened, it could be more terrifying than anything? As it turns out, those attending have an understanding of the war and why the fighting continues and see their experiences in awe, wonder and excitement. We have found this to be the case in Gettysburg for the last five years and expect the same this year.
Ghost stories are common in Gettysburg and most people living there talk openly about them. Not only are there ghosts on the battlefields, but also in areas where makeshift hospitals once stood, hotels, inns and residences all have their ghosts and cemeteries have their fair share of ghostly visitors. Being the site of three days of bloody battle, Gettysburg offers extensive historical value and is a hotbed of ongoing ghost activity. By being a part of this every year, we have seen the importance of acknowledging the spirits that remain there. They want us to know, they want us to pay attention, and there are messages that they have not yet shared.
One experience comes to mind from the conference three years ago. One of our members who was attending seemed to be very sensitive to the spirits. She never claimed to have psychic abilities and yet what she shared from one experience definitely showed that she tended to have the gift. She was in the attic of one of the Bed and Breakfasts in town and suddenly felt the presence of a soldier there with her. He told her he was a Confederate soldier and gave her his name. But, history had shown that there were no Confederate soldiers in that particular building, yet she felt very sure her information was correct. It was later that the owners of the establishment did some research on the soldier, by name only to discover that yes, he had died in Gettysburg, but no one knew where. It seems he had died in the residence where she was given the information, and it was found that he was the only Confederate soldier to have died at that site.
Experiences are varied. Smells, sounds, visual experiences, emotions are felt and at times even physical manifestations of pain are felt by some. While walking along Rose Woods, two members among the group suddenly felt a burst of cold air and sharp pain in their shoulders. The place where they experienced this was at a site where an officer had been stabbed through the shoulder with a bayonet. The cold burst of air came from behind a pile of boulders along the path, which could have been the soldier who stabbed the Officer, bursting forth from his hiding place, to do the deed. Nonetheless, the experience was very real to the two ladies and on that same night, myself and another member watched as an ectoplasmic mist followed behind our group, lagging back and then coming forward as if trying to catch up.
Strange things took place during the Battle ofGettysburg also. One incident in particular probably changed the course of the war. The battle on Little Round Top and the 20th Maine, commanded by Col. Joshua Chamberlain was the site of one paranormal event that has been documented. It seemed the position held by the Union on Little Round Top was little more than hopeless. The ammunition supply was spent, what was being used had been taken from the dead. The battle was at a crisis point where the Union defeat was imminent and possibly the collapse of the Union line. It did not look good. The only thing left was hand-to-hand combat.
Col. Chamberlain ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge. The Confederates were fresh with muskets in hand, the Yankees tired, discouraged and bedraggled had only their bayonets and their prayers to fight with. But, something happened on Little Round Top, something totally unexpected and it is thought that what took place, turned the tide of battle.
At the crisis point, an apparition appeared, turning the tide in favor of the Federal forces. The troops saw a pale rider in their midst that came from nowhere, the costume was vintage, from another time. They watched as it rode along the thin blue line of Federal troops. With every man it passed, soldiers picked up hope and found courage to fight. It seems the Rebs had seen it too as some of them fired upon it, thinking it to be a Union Commander as it was clad in blue. Bullets had no effect on it which turned the Rebels in panic and despair. This phantom rider had come to give the Federals confidence and courage which led them to certain victory.
It was later that the Union soldiers spoke about how the phantom rider closely resembled paintings they had seen of George Washington. They felt that he appeared to save the very Union that he had fought so hard to establish. Many don't accept this as being valid, that George Washington would not have appeared at Gettysburg, yet the war department did not regard it as outlandish. In fact they took it seriously enough to send a staff officer, Col. Pittenger, to investigate. He interviewed many of those men who witnessed the apparition of the pale rider, gathering first hand testimony from them. Though the findings were not published, the event was accepted as an account of the battle.
Taking that information into account, it seems that George Washington himself, some years before had an encounter that seemed very strange to him at the time. He had a vision, which has been interpreted as a visualization of what was to be the American Civil War, and some relate that vision to the events in Gettysburg. He had this vision at a crisis point during the Revolutionary War in 1777 when the army had nearly fallen apart except for the leadership of George Washington himself.
It is not uncommon for such an event to take place during war, though it is not spoken about or documented as a factual event. It does broaden the field of paranormal activity, be it a dimensional shift or premonition of events to come, there is a connection that stimulates the researchers mind as to what actually transpired and the relationship of it all. There seems to be a universal connection of consciousness involved, just as there is a relationship in our personal lives when we face chaos and find ourselves in the presence of loved ones who have gone before us.
Gettysburg is a place that will always remain very special to Dave and myself. We have learned much in being there yet have much to learn as we continue to return to Gettysburg and to visit other sites on the back roads of America. The events that are taking place are not something contained within a magician's bag of tricks or projected onto a full screen of past life for us to review. These things are taking place everywhere and it is only because of the interest and the heightened awareness of serious researchers that we are learning more every day. It's the serious dedication of those people who want to know more about life, afterlife and what remains unseen to most of us, yet continues to happen on a regular basis. It is desire to learn more of what is out there, the extended part of life that goes on but is not spoken about because of the fear of ridicule or condemnation.
Increasingly, people are out into the fields of discovery, documenting life after physical death. To them, what they are learning is real, what they experience is valid and it doesn't require an extensive education or a line of degrees behind their names for it to be happening. After all, it is our experiences in life that make us the people we are. It is what we experience that teaches us and helps us to grow to levels beyond imagination. This is the work of those who want to know more, who want to learn first hand what is taking place around us without feeling they have to be converted into believing only what others are telling them.
Be it Gettysburg in the heart of the battlefields or in the subdued light of a haunted tavern, people are out there wanting to learn more by their own experiences.
Of all of the battlefields that we have visited, we know more about Gettysburg and what took place there. Being able to return yearly has given us opportunities to meet with people and learn more than just what is found on the surface. I must admit too, Gettysburg and the folks who live there are more open about the ghosts of Gettysburg than any other battle site we have found. With each passing year, people are more open about the paranormal activity that takes place there and the experiences they are having while out on the battlefield. Many of these experiences have been documented in the many books that can be found anywhere in town.
The beauty of Gettysburg or any other National Military Park or Monument is the fact that it belongs to all Americans. We are free to go there at any time. It is a part of our history, our heritage and it is a place where we have the opportunity to go and learn about our ancestors and the reasons they fought in the war. It is one thing to read it in history books, it is another issue totally to be able to go there, wander the battlefields reading the markers and monuments and seeing it first hand. That is the real education in and of itself. It becomes reality when you are there, not just something written in a history text in school. We found this to be true the first time we visited Gettysburg and it has come to have a very special meaning to us. We don't just hold a conference there annually, we share the experience of Gettysburg and encourage others to join and find the deeper meaning that we found there.
As we go to Gettysburg again this year, may we especially remember our young men and women fighting the battle in Iraq right now. Our prayers and hearts are with them and with their loved ones waiting for them to come home, the battle won.
GOD Bless AMERICA!!!
