In 2005 I took a two week vacation with my Mother, daughter and cousin along the East coast. Our vacation started in Virginia, then Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia, Rhode Island and Boston MA. Since many of the places we went to have so much history and reports of ghostly activity, I thought that I would do a blog series on that vacation. I will start with Newport News, Virginia, where my Aunts, Uncles, many cousins live, and where my Father grew up. On one of the evenings of our visit, several of my cousins came over and we chatted about our lives. I found out that one of my cousins was a Civil War re-enactor. He and many others would put on Confederate and Yankee uniforms and meet on the battlefields where all the action took place. He is a southern boy so he would wear a full Confederate uniform, from head to toe, with whatever pistols or fighting gear was necessary for the re-enactment. These battles were carefully orchestrated by historians and other Civil War experts. A distance away from the battlefields was the spectators or news media, watching the whole event as it unfolds. I think it would fun to watch them re-enact a battle. He told us the stories about the night before the battle that turned out to be just as fascinating as the battle recreations themselves. Some of the private owners of the plantation properties around the area, allowed some of the participants to pitch tents or sleep in the cabins that are on the property as long as they respect the land. (I'm sorry but I can't remember the name of the plantation that he stayed on and haven't seen him since 2005.) The cabins were where the plantation owner's slaves would live. It was well known to those that have camped on one particular property for several years. that one of the cabins near the back of one of the property is haunted. No one ever stays there because whatever is there doesn't want visitors and is not shy in letting them know. One time a new member to the re-enactment group was staying in the cabin next to the "haunted" cabin. There was lots of noise in that cabin and he couldn't sleep. He thought that someone was partying in the cabin and went over to tell them to be quiet. My cousin was staying in another cabin nearby and watched this all unfold. He saw the guy march to the cabin angry, go inside, and then ran out like his britches were on fire. The man said that someone or something told him to 'get out' in an angry voice but no one was in there. He never went near the cabin after that. My cousin said that the night was like a dead calm, eerie quiet and pitch black unless there was a full moon. While you are lying in bed, you were overcome with the feeling like you are not alone, almost like some unseen thing was in there with you. Some have reported seeing apparitions walking through the property, ignoring the living, moving around and repeating the same thing over and over. No one felt threatened by any of the spirits that may still reside on the property, so they didn't mind staying there. As for the "haunted" cabin, they just respected the angry ghosts wishes and stayed away.
On the day of the battle recreations, the feeling and reported sightings of ghosts have been witnessed on the battlefields as well. While the battle was going on, or after it was over, some say they noticed opaque soldiers on the field still fighting the battle. For some of the re-enactors they do this because they love it and others to honor those who lost their lives in the war, perhaps a family ancestor. With all the bloody deaths from the Civil War in Virginia, it’s not surprising that along with the human re-enactors that some of the ghost soldiers from the war are joining in on the fighting too.
There have been many sightings of battle scenes being played out by witnesses on many famous battlefields like Gettysburg. Many visitors have thanked the park managers for the wonderful and realistic re-enactments of battles or soldiers marching in formation for them. In every case, there was never a re-enactments going on. I would love to hear from anyone who has done battlefield re-enactments or has seen one done by ghosts of the battles' past.
--Julie--
Julie;
ReplyDeleteFantastic article. As a Virginian, the "haunts" of the entire state were my mother (an historian and artist's) favorite places. We must have trudged along them a million times and seen tons of reenactments. Mine is kind of strange. The house I grew up in was used during the Civil War as a field hospital by the North and then the South took it over again and used it for the same thing. We had historical tours of our home when they were doing all the area historic homes by the historical society. Folks would tromp through the house nonstop all day long and look at the relics in the cabinets and hear my mother discuss the history with great pride. The only thing is, as the door attendant, I would hear someone walk across the living room from the music room when everyone visiting was in the art room (other side of the house). Booted footsteps often heard in our home would come around to where the folks were standing and stop there, as if listening to the tour. We also had a sound of a cannonball hitting the wall very rarely, perhaps every couple years, but always in the same spot. My parents believed that perhaps the house had been hit because of a patched spot on the front wall. We never knew if a cannonball was in there, but the sound of it hitting the wall and rumbling that side of the house was amazing. I grew up with a lot of reenacters. It wasn't easy because I was in the South but a Northern sympathizer. A lot of the good ole boys enjoyed being Confederates a bit too much, but they also often reported feelings of deja vu associated with the costume and the battle reenactments, as if they knew what should happen next. Makes you wonder if they pick up on the passed lives in the fields and begin to see some of the victim's viewpoints.
Good article Jules!
ReplyDeleteDuring all these re-enactments, I wonder if there any ghosts mingling in the fake battlefields with these re-enactment soldiers. Like...no one would really know. How creepy would that be??
-Mike--
Another great article Julie-I so wish I had had the chance to visit that area of the country before! although after reading yours and Autumnforests blog there seems to be a lot more haunted areas in Arizona than I realized-best to the both of you and hope you are having a great weekend!!
ReplyDeleteI am currently trying to get a hold of my Virginia cousins to find out more information. I would like to know more and possibly watch a reenactment of the Civil War. My Father grew up in Newport News until he went in the military at 17. While researching his family's history, I found out that my Great (4 times) Grandfather owned "Little England" plantation in Gloucester Co. and is buried in it's cemetery along with other family members. I'm trying to find more on "Little England" to see if it has its own set of ghostly activity. My family no longer owns it and my cousin didn't know the current owner. I also had a Great Great Grandfather present at Appomattox Courthouse when Lee surrendered to Grant so I may do a blog on that place. From what I saw while doing some research, Appomattox is very haunted. There is also a rumor that we are related to Pocahontas but I haven't found that connection yet. There is so much more history on my Dad's side that will make some interesting blogs. As for my Mother, well her parents came from Italy so her family's history requires much more research. On a good note, I am in contact with many of my cousins from her side.
ReplyDeleteAutumn, I always find it interesting to hear stories from your family's home in VA. It seems like it is a neverending story. Looking forward to hearing more.
Mikey, glad to see you pop in. I imagine that there are ghosts on the battlefields right along with the live reenactors joining in on the fighting. Some have been seen according to my cousin, so, yes, that would be creepy.
Devin, if you do get the chance to visit Virginia, take it. There is so much history there. I need to go back because I missed some places I wanted to see like Appomattox.
A great article to read!
ReplyDeleteAs I had stated before, my Wife and I have been to Gettysburg on a number of occasions. On one trip we took on our "Goldwing" we decided to go see a re-enactment of "Pickets Charge." It was a great thing to see all those Confederate and Union Soldiers re-enacting the famous battle in the same type of uniform that was worn back at that time. There was a immense amount of smoke from the cannon volley, that you could barely see the fight as it progressed.
Unfortunately, the weather was so darn hot that my Wife was starting to get burned from the sun and we had to leave before the re-enactment ended. Still, it was a great experience for us both.
I have also read on different articles that people do comment to Park Rangers about Civil War Soldiers that walk or march around the Battlefield, and their was nothing planned like that. Makes you really want to see something like this to happen, but it just does not for me . . . so far.
Les & Eileen
Thanks Les for your comment. I have been to PA several times and never got the opportunity to visit Gettysburg. Next time it will be on my ta-do list.
ReplyDelete