Spookiest Battlefields: Discover America’s Most Haunted Battlefields

By Terrance Zepke

The Sexton’s musings (spoilers are likely):

Well little Ghoulies here were have our first of several non-fiction books. These are going to be a smidge different from our fiction friends in that there are no fictional characters or situations to rant and rave about. With this my approach will be more of a reflection on the locations and histories surrounding the alleged hauntings. I think it should be an interesting departure and prove to be very interesting. Don’t worry though I’m sure it will not be anger free, as that’s just not who I am after all. Just as a heads up, this particular book is more of a guide to the location and a brief history of the battle that took place there. In most cases mention of the paranormal is generalized on what has been reported but no specific stories are told. It seems our author is travel writer first and fore most. Which is fine by me. Even though the information is basic and brief it is still interesting.

Some of the below images may be disturbing to some visitors.

Vicksburg National Military Park

The two most notable mentions for me were the temporary cease fire that was called so that the bodies of the fallen soldiers could be buried. Both sides working side by side to bury their dead comrades. The other was the cave dwellings that were made for the civilians. Because of these dwellings there were apparently very few civilian casualties during this particular battle. Fascinating stuff.  

Manassas National Battlefield Park

Okay first of all the Confederates ignoring the white flags of the makeshift hospital that was established during both battels at the stone house pisses me off. I understand that it’s war but I can’t think of a more disrespectful asshole thing to do. This leads me to what the house was first used for, according to our author, during the first battle tourists were brought from Washington DC via horse and carriage to watch the carnage and have a picnic. This just blew my mind. The fact that only one civilian was actually killed during these battles is astounding when you consider the initial callous actions of the afore mentioned individuals.

Shiloh National Military Park

Within this location brief, there is a specific haunting mentioned. Surrounding this haunting there are some interesting facts about the drummer boys and the roll that they played on the battlefield. Honestly I had no real idea of their roll other than to possibly be part of an alarm type roll, alerting the soldiers to an incoming enemy. But really they were used to announce orders to the troops playing specific tunes to represent those orders. The other roll that they played was removing injured soldiers from the battlefield and getting them medical attention. Very interesting.  

Brandywine Battlefield State Park

A short battle of the Revolutionary War (1777) who’s loss ultimately cost the American’s Philadelphia. This one also has a specific haunting mentioned in it and an interesting one at that. There are multiple theorized explanations behind the haunting but my favorite would have to be that the ghost of General “Mad Anthony” Wayne who is allegedly looking for his bones that were lost in transport to the family tomb by his son. Guess he didn’t secure the saddle bag flaps well enough.

Stones River National Battlefield

There are several different sightings mentioned for this one but the most notable is the ever creeptastic headless horseman. This particular one met his death at the hands of a cannon ball that took his head off while he was on horseback. Allegedly his headless body remained on its horse for a good clip before falling off. I suppose dying like that would be a shock to anyone’s system so there would be no surprise for me if he were still wandering around here.    

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

It sounds to me like these particular battle were won through the incompetence and insubordination of military leadership. The Battle of Chickamauga was a confederate victory as the orders given by General Rosecrans were incompetent, leaving a gap for the Confederacy to squeak through. However this victory was short lived as Braggs made a tactical mistake by not going after Rosecrans thus allowing for the Union to take Chattanooga and negating the victory at Chickamauga. SMH. The sightings are interesting. I suspect that “Old Green Eyes” would more than likely not be the ghost of a Confederate soldier. The theory of the spirit being a Native American is probably more likely. It would be an adventure to actually see this entity for one’s self.  

Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument

Our greed as a nation and the hubris and stupidity of one man (Lt Colonel George A Custer) got us our asses kick in this one. I know very little about what happened during the Plains Indian War but this is by design. Keeping the anger in check my little Ghoulies. Mind you there were definitely native tribes that were not a peaceful people and there were many battles between tribes but for interlopers to break contract (treaty agreements) and steal land from people all in the name of greed is disgusting! I would have come out guns blazing as well. Now as far as the paranormal side of things here, I find it interesting that there seems to be more activity on the white man side of things than on the Native side. Knowing the very little that I know about the beliefs of Native Americans I suspect that they are more at peace with death than most making it unlikely that they would stick around here, regardless of how violent their death may have been.  

Chalmette National Battlefield and National Cemetery

There is just a very basic mention of the paranormal experiences various individuals have reported for this particular location however the battle that is discussed has its interesting bits. Apparently this was the last battle of the War of 1812 with the British. This battle was mostly fought by volunteers and militia groups, which for me was the most interesting part of the brief history. 

Valley Forge National Historic Park

Only battle that was fought on these grounds was the one Washington’s troops fought with Mother Nature. It seems that none of them were prepared for the harshness of winter and therefore loss of life was inevitable. It’s crazy to think that these people trained in such a harsh environment with very little food and supplies and ultimately came out soldiers bringing victory to the American’s. Crazy what the human will can overcome when necessary. One interesting factoid and really one of the main reasons that many of these individuals were able to survive was the presence of family. Many of these men’s families followed them to this encampment keeping morale high. It’s amazing what effect a positive outlook and support can have on a bleak situation. With this and the passion to keep their freedom these men, who came into Valley Forge with no formal training and very little in the way of provisions came out victorious…well overall. It’s expected that Mother Nature would take her fair share of casualties but this is a testament to what fighting for something truly important can accomplish.        

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park

There are several different locations and battles involved in this “chapter”. All of them close together geographically and three of them happening back to back within a matter of weeks spanning from April 30, 1863 - May 21, 1863. The first battle to take place was the Battle of Fredericksburg which started on December 11, 1862 and ended December 15, 1862. This was the most bloody of the four conflicts, with highest losses on the Union side due to the failed offensive of Major General Burnside. Who was relieved of his command not too long after his failure by President Lincoln. The Battle of Chancellorsville was the battle started on April 30, 1863, this battle saw the loss of a strong confederate leader, Stonewall Jackson.

Interestingly enough, basic details of an investigation done by Tri-Mar Paranormal Research in some of these locations that these battles were fought is reported by Zepke. Results varied by location. (Something of note for this one: At the Wilderness Battlefield they spent some time at the location where they buried Stonewall Jackson’s amputated arm…um huh…amputated arm…)    

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park

This battle was not really a battle at all. There was a very brief conflict that took place in this location but the most important part to this particular place in the Civil War was that this was where General Lee surrendered to General Grant in a most civilized meeting. For all of the bloodshed and sorrow in the four years that the war lasted the ending was rather anticlimactic if not incredibly respectable.

The haunting that is mentioned at this location has nothing to do with the war. In fact there is actually some voodoo involved and black magic. All stemming from the love Elijah Crawford had for his wife, who he lost in child birth, and his daughter Abigail, who he lost at the age of six to fever. He became obsessed with bringing them back from the dead and was willing to do what it took to make that happen. Interesting stuff. It looks like this location is considered one of the most haunted places in Virginia and there are ghost tours and the like that take place here periodically.   

Richmond National Battlefield Park

This is a huge place that does not just involve one or two monuments. There are upwards of 30 sites located within its grounds commemorating more than 30 different Civil War battles that occurred around Richmond VA. The hauntings described are those related to The Battle of Cold Harbor as there were many deaths. An estimated 16,000 lives were lost during the two-week battle. Additionally many civilian lives were lost in this area due to disease and famine.  

Antietam National Battlefield

This battle lasted one day. The number of lives lost is incredibly high considering the period of time that it happened in. 23,000 men were killed, wounded or went missing. Incredibly enough it all could have been avoided by intel that was obtained by the Union prior to this battle that would have allowed them to stop Lee’s army in their tracks and potentially ended the war but General McClellan sat on the info for 18 hours and by the time he acted on it, it was too late. Smh

There is more information about specific supernatural incidents in this “chapter” as apparently there are several haunted locations that have had significant reports of activity including full spectral apparitions and spectral lights.  

Gettysburg National Military Park 

I think this is probably one of the more generally recognized battles of the Civil War. This battle went on for three days and saw approximately 51,000 men to their graves. There are several hauntings noted for this particular location. One of the more interesting mentioned is the haunting at the university. One of the administration buildings had been used as a hospital during the war. Allegedly two employees were working late and ended up leaving together. They took the elevator down to the main floor per usual but this time it did not stop on the main floor but continued on to the basement. When the doors opened what they saw caused them to never take the elevator again allowing them to get their steps in.

The overall thoughts are this…this book is not a book of true ghost stories. Even though there are some specific hauntings that are mentioned along with a brief background this is more of a travel guide to these locations. I am not however disappointed with it. Honestly I did learn some things and it makes me want to go and visit these locations. Best advice for dark tourism is go with an open mind and no expectations of experiencing anything out of the ordinary…just go with the flow my Ghoulies.

Happy Devouring! 

The Sexton