Spooky this could be, a ghostly encounter, had by some, not me unfortunately but still a fun read I hope you like...
Confederate Gray…
A story was told to me of a battalion of officers & enlisted men, lost during the battle of Gettysburg. These men all from the south, strong, righteous in their beliefs and battle hardened, would be hard to just kill and bury or hide from site.
Nonetheless they were lost, totally, nothing ever found of them again…until…
Camping at Gettysburg, 200 years after the Civil war, during a reenactment of the great battles fought there, we were eating dinner outside the camper, as it was hot inside.We were cooking hot dogs over the fire on a beautiful star lit night, when a mist descended over our place of refuge. Out of that mist came four men, all in Confederate gray, sporting muskets of the time, uniforms clean and well arranged, men themselves quite clean shaven and as clean as a military man can be during the horrors of war…
They came over to our fire stating in a deep southern drawl, how good our food smelled and we offered them some, no problem, there was plenty, want some water too? They gladly accept our contribution of water, told us they had a chore down the road apiece and would return to accept our hospitality in a short time.
Off they went, then fireworks we thought we heard, in the direction they went, we just paid it no mind, this was a time of rejoicing, many had brought their own fireworks…
These four men never did return to accept the food we offered. We thought they came upon their friends and stayed the night with them and gave it not another thought. During the time of their visit however, a boy friend of one of our kids, who had accompanied us on our trip here this year, was also an excellent sketch artist. He had been sitting at the dinette inside the camper and had been sketching, as was his habit, wherever it was he went. The four men had their uniforms sketched, as he was better at uniforms and clothing than faces and like that. He also made sure to sketch their military insignia to check on later when he got to talk to the actual re-enactors he would meet the next day…
The next day came, and off we went to look through the museum, talk to the men doing the actual re-enactment and so on. Brian, as his name was, brought his sketch pad, again his habit and was showing the sketches he had done up to that point. When he showed the sketches of the men that had visited our campsite the prior night, no one could identify the epaulets and insignia the men wore. The actual historian that oversaw the re-enacted battles was called in to identify them…
No insignia’s such as those have been ever worn, since the loss of the battalion from the south. In honor and respect no one ever did wear them again, in any form since the 1860’s. This intrigued us, and the historian still checked with ever man jack in the re-enactment, none of whom wore that insignia, as to respecting the lost battalion…
Where did these men come from? Were we visited by men from the lost battalion? Did they accept our water just before the battle that killed them or took them away or how ever they were permanently lost?Were the fireworks we heard, really gunfire, as they defended themselves on the other side of this reality against a real aggressor of some kind?All good questions, none able to be answered, in this lifetime, by us, maybe by God, or the aggressor that took these men to their own reality…
Note: that this story was told and retold, as many have come upon these men, always offering them food or water or something in return for their visit…go, maybe you will meet them like did the person passing on this story to me…
Ed, man I like the style of your writing. This story intrigued me firstly because I enjoy civil war history, and secondly I am writing a short story on a civil war battle now. At present am researching facts so the story will be authentic. BTW, thanks for commenting on a poem of mine. If you didn't I would have never found your site. I'll be back for more of your stories. I really enjoyed it.
Great spooky tale, Ed. There are so many similar stories around, WW I, France westfront etc. There should be an element of truth in it. Interestingly, experiences as the one you describe might also have a bearing on our own distant past: we can only see, dream, experience things we are somehow related to. Franz
Reviewed by Gentle Willow
4/5/2004
The font was too tiny for these old eyes so I copied this to word and enlarged it. Gooseflesh walked upon my arms. These people, men, women, and boys fought with their hearts. I unwillingly patrolled the battlegrounds of the battles that ensued and are enshrouded religiously by both sides. Never have I been so spooked. I was reared in a haunted house and these stories, myths, and factual accounts absolutely slap me down.
Good souls that believed in what they were fighting for. Unbelievable.
This was a wonderful story? Or fact. . .
As one who works in the historical town of Gettysburg, I'm here to tell you that many a story is told about the soldiers who have died there who are stuck here in this time. There are many stories still told today of ghosts who visit residents regularly. I, for one, believe in ghosts - those who are "caught" between here and there...
Regardless of comments posted, this is an interesting story, Ed. (And if others feel the need to be critical, at least they could be courteous about it.) Besides, you never mentioned that this was "factual". It's a story, for pete's sake.
Write on!
Tami
Reviewed by Susan Sparks
3/25/2004
Well Ed, this is creative and imaginative, and I just plain like it. It matters not to me how much research you did or didn't do. I know you write for the fun of it--I don't imagine you're out to win a Nobel Prize for Literature or anything like that. "Don't let the bastards get you down!" Somebody famous said that, don't know who--perhaps I should do some research.
Reviewed by Jared Troutman
3/25/2004
If I were going to slam your story, Ed, I'd at least make sure my spelling was correct. Some people's spelling is appalling <-- that's how you spell it. Anyway, I enjoyed your imaginative story.
I enjoyed your story, Ed, no matter what the prior reviewer says! How about a parallel universe as the solution, in which some are still fighting the civil war - right now - because of some difference in time on their world.
The lack of research in this piece is apalling. What battalion? Name them. I've never heard of any battalion that just went missing at Gettysburg. If that had happened in reality, then it would be as big a story at the Lost Colony and Amelia Earhart. If you want to write a good ghost story fictional or nonfictional(even if it happend to you personally), it must be backed up with historical research and have facts included that are traceable for your readers or the story falls flat.
This is excellent indeed, eerier over the Iced Earth track Gettysburg. I wanted to write a story about Gettysburg but I want to go there first to really capture the feel of the place. It is good that someone from AuthorsDen captured the feel of that place. You should send this story to Jon Schaffer of Iced Earth. It is a story that captured the spirit of that bloodiest chapter of the Civil War. I was reading some stories about the various wars and this one is one of those that is very haunting. I read a haunting one about WWI. I want to write a crow story set during WWII, but it is always harder to write a story that is based off an event in history. This one is one of those that I can see becoming a longer story. You should wrote one about the Union blue as well. Brother against brother, best friend against best friend, father vs. son, son vs. father -- one of the most painful wars in the United States. Send this to Jon Schaffer, this is a subject that intrigued him the most.
Did you ever wonder what happened after the Archangel Michael through the demons out of heaven? Let one of them guide you through the origin of evil in the world.
