Battlefield Ghosts Or Reenactors Or A Mixture Of Both?

Graveyard Hound

Graveyard Hound

Member
For about the past 20 yrs. I have belonged to a group of individuals, reenactors we're called, that go to various Civil War battlefield sites and recreate battles that took place there between 1861-1865. My Div. is the 26th North Carolina. I'll spare you the nuts and bolts of authentic dress, costs of being dress in "authentic" uniforms, paying current costs and you'll range from very little to $2,000.00 upward, esp. if you have a hoorse, too. I had heard "tales" of other members of the 26th having encounted "spirits", "ghosts", etc, all dressed exactly as in 1861 but their uniforms were almost "too new", the way they talked about the war was if it was taking place at that time, and the oddest thing was there were Union "soldiers", interacting with Confederates that even when the action took a break, we still stayed on our respective sides, not just Union "soldiers" but it was really odd to run into other Confederate "soldiers", that, as many, had a frightening look on their faces, and "blood" on various places, or what appeared to be "blood", limping, unable to use an arm or a leg, when they ambulated at all. Coming across apparently a reenactor "faking" death, and being non-responsive, roll them over and you're looking at a face that words cannot do justice to,especially when one is expecting a "normal" life face of someone who was playing a joke on you. Some of them were no jokes and not all didn't stay put from where they were discovered. Gettysburg was the worse to me. Others would say Vicksburg, Sharpsburg, or Vicksburg. Three days of "faking death" and not knowing "who" or what" you might fall down beside of. I have gotten up, supposedly wounded, with help from another Confederate soldier, only to call his attention to the soldier besdie of me and be told, "there is nobody beside of you, I saw you fall, and when the smoke thinned out, there was a body but I looked away and he was gone. I guessed another member from his side came by and picked him up, like I'd doing for you". I still participate and have risen in rank, no longer having to make that Cahrge on the 3rd of july that saw many good men, from both side, really get wounded or killed crossing that open field trying to reach a Cops of Trees, and face withering rifle and /or canon fire in an act that was seen as the turning point of the war, for both sides.
 
Interesting story, I remember reading an article about a similar reported story a long time ago.

I've seen similar stories on here as well but these were more about natives than civil war soldiers. Pretty neat to think about battlefield ghosts staying around for so long. Likely those reenactments give them a chance to live again, somehow.

Did you ever get to film those ghosts?
 

I have tried various cameras, types of films from infared to the most current digital camers and so far, I have gotten zip, nada, nothing. I took one photo of there soldiers, all of whom seemed solided enough, took it to a photo. shop in the town of Gettysburg, had it developed, and got the two other reenactors who were in it, guess what, there was a gap between the two soldiers I knew from Releigh, just vacant air. I have no explanation but it has happened at other battlefield sites I took a part in reenacting Civil War battles. Don't get me started on the 150 yo. reconstructed family home I'm involved in completing and the odd things that ggo on around the house, grounds, and family cemetery.
 

Been to places like that myself and I still can't explain what was heard, not seen and the general feelings in places you aren't alone though no one is visible around you.
 
Interesting story. I've heard similar stories. There's also some good footage out there that shows what appears to be men in uniform walking along a tree line at dark. They're not 100% solid, which I find interesting. If I had the link handy, I'd have included it.

There is also another story about WWII that reminds me of yours. An elderly woman was walking along Normandy beach a few years ago when all of a sudden something exploded next to her. She fell to her knees and heard machine gun fire, men yelling and screaming. She was in shock as it lasted for a good "while". (Not sure if that was seconds, or minutes.)

Then it all stopped. She got up, was still in 2000 something and walked home with an experience she will never forget.

Some people say that things can leave "scars" in time, where it'll replay itself. Many claim some hauntings are nothing but time replaying itself. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that you were caught up in one of those scars, reliving what those men did those years ago.
 
Try reading any of the Ghosts of Gettysburg series and you will be amazed of what is till goin' on there between the currently living and the dead from those hot 3 days in July, 1863.
 
Trust me, there have been instances at G. Burg, I have talked to soldier on both sides, different uniforms I thought were re-enactors but I noted their speech was in the "present tense" while mine was in the past. I EVERY case, all walked off to parts unknown but all were in plain view and simply vanished. Got about 1,000 stories if anyone is just that curious, :ROFLMAO:
 

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