Ghost Soldiers of Gettysburg

by Patrick Burke

  The Confederate attack started with Gen. John Bell Hood’s division, and his objective was securing Little Round Top and Big Round Top—the two largest features on the battlefield. They overlooked what is now called the Valley of Death for the large number of Confederates killed crossing the valley in an attempt to drive the Union troops from the makeshift breastworks on the Round Tops. Opposite of the Round Tops was Houck’s Ridge, which had the Devil’s Den on its south slope, near Triangular Field.

  A historical side note is needed here, as it affected the outcome of the initial action. Hood was known as a scrapper, and so were his men. He sent out some of his Texan scouts and discovered that both Round Tops were unoccupied and that the Union’s entire artillery reserve was stationed behind the hills. He asked permission to change his troops position so that he could attack the rear of the Union army. Longstreet denied his request three times, stating that Lee wanted them to attack from Emmitsburg Road and that is what he intended to do. The outcome of the battle might have been different if Hood was allowed to reposition his men and attack the rear of the Union lines.

  But orders were orders, and Hood started his attack, driving toward Devil’s Den. As the Confederate line surged forward, they immortalized the names of the locations where the Union defenders had fought furiously to hold: the Triangular Field, Devil’s Den, the Peach Orchard, the Wheatfield, the Valley of Death, Big and Little Round Top, the Codori House, Cemetery Ridge, the Bliss Farm, Cemetery Hill, and Culp’s Hill.

  By ten thirty p.m., the Confederate juggernaut that looked so promising during the initial attack would peter out as the men simply ran out of steam. Heat exhaustion played an important factor as the Rebel army had to do more marching and maneuvering that the Yankee defenders. The loss of life on this day was horrific. In just over five hours of fighting, a combined total of killed, wounded, and missing in action was just over 18,000 men. In other words, this means a soldier died, was wounded, or went missing in action every second!

  Cemetery Ridge

  Chapter Ten

  One Gallant Rush

  On July 2, 1863, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee intended to launch the Army of Northern Virginia in multiple attacks against the flanks of the Army of the Potomac and shear the Union defenses. Coordinated correctly, these “en echelon” attacks would force confusion in the Union lines and eventually breach it. Lee’s plan was solid, but his lines were stretched out over a long distance, and coordination of the attack would become more difficult than he anticipated. Nevertheless, the day’s fighting was fierce, inflicting catastrophic casualties on both sides.

  We decided to visit the spot where Confederate Brig. Gen. Cadmus Wilcox and his brigade of Alabamians stopped to realign before pushing to the top of Cemetery Ridge. We stood on the Confederate side of the approach to the ridge, looking at the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry monument with its lone soldier in full stride, musket leveled. Staring at the monument, we thought what must have gone through the minds of the Confederate soldiers as they heard the Union huzza and saw the large number of Union soldiers come streaming out of the smoke toward them. And we marveled at the valor of the 262 men of the First Minnesota, a Union regiment that went into battle at the most critical time, when the Union center on this part of the field was crumbling, against a force that was six times its size. When the smoke cleared, only 47 men from the First Minnesota returned to their original line on Cemetery Ridge.

  We’ve been told that valor is often born of circumstance. History tells us that Union Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock saw Wilcox’s brigade, unchallenged, forming near the base of a ridge with the intent of charging a gap in the Union line. Hancock knew he needed reinforcements desperately and saw the First Minnesota close at hand. He pointed to a Confederate flag over the advancing line and shouted to Col. William Colvill of the First Minnesota, “Advance, Colonel, and take those colors!”

  Colvill’s task was critical. If he and his men couldn’t delay Wilcox’s brigade from penetrating the gap before more reinforcements arrived, the Confederates would most certainly push the Union forces off their strategic position on Cemetery Ridge. If that happens, the entire Union line collapses, and the outcome of the battle is very different.

  As we stood by the monument, an overwhelming sense of trepidation descended upon us. Patrick felt the words wash over him: “Dear God! Plug the gap or all is lost!” Could these have been Hancock’s thoughts when he first rode up the ridge and witnessed the desperate situation unfolding before him? Did we just trigger a residual haunting? Jack must have felt something as well, as the thought still rang in our heads we paused where we stood, looking back at the monument.

  The 262 men of the First Minnesota charged directly into the center of Wilcox’s 1,700 Alabamians with a tremendous yell. The unit’s flag fell five times and rose again each time. They momentarily stopped the Alabamians cold. Ten minutes later, the small group of surviving Minnesotans (47 men all wounded and exhausted) came streaming back as fresh Union troops came over the ridge and engaged Wilcox’s brigade at the foot of the ridge. The First Minnesota’s 83 percent casualty rate stands to this day as the largest loss by any surviving military unit.

  General Robert E. Lee, who launched the Army of Virginia into multiple attacks against the flanks of the Union army on the second day of fighting. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

  Union General Winfield Scott Hancock, who ordered the First Minnesota to stop an unchallenged Confederate assault on Cemetery Ridge. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

  As we stood there in awe of such bravery, a woman in her forties came up beside Patrick and started talking. She noted the logo on the back of his shirt and asked if he ever investigated this battlefield. We told her about some of the evidence we captured and described some of the more personal moments we experienced on the battlefield.

  She then recounted the following story to us:

  I was walking in the early morning, just after sunrise, along the road just behind us. I enjoy taking brisk walks through the battlefield at that time in the morning because everything is so peaceful. As I approached the area we’re standing in, I heard a great commotion. It sounded like a football game with a lot of people shouting. I couldn’t see anyone around me, but it seemed to come from the area where that monument (she pointed at the First Minnesota monument) is standing. I moved closer to investigate when I heard a tremendous cheer from what seemed like hundreds of voices, and then suddenly the sounds were gone.

  We asked her if she heard anything else, but she said she only remembered the shouting and especially that final cheer. It seemed so odd and out of place to her. We then described the cheer as a “hurrah” and asked her if that was close to what she heard. She believed it was.

  Did she hear the cry of the First Minnesota as they charged into history? Did she hear the subsequent cheers that came from the approaching Union reinforcements who witnessed their gallant rush? Did her being in the right place at the right time allow her to experience the “living history” of an emotional event that took place on this spot over 150 years ago?

  Often, the random individuals you meet while exploring Gettysburg have fascinating stories that they are more than willing to share with you. It seems they are drawn to the battlefield for one reason or another, whether they are a descendant of someone who fought in the battle or a witness to a strange paranormal event that keeps them coming back, they all have a tale to tell.

  Sometimes, they represent solid eyewitnesses to paranormal phenomena, and it’s important to document such stories in order to enhance the database of information that can help researchers develop patterns as to where and when certain phenomena take place.

  We always return to the First Minnesota monument to see if we can witness (and capture) a part of the amazing events that took place in 1863. If nothing else, we’re happy to stand and honor the men who rushed in the face of great odds and willingly sacrificed
their lives for a cause in which they believed so strongly.

  [contents]

  Chapter Eleven

  A Study in Paranormal Archaeology

  — By Patrick Burke —

  Battlefields abound with what-ifs—those thirty-second decisions that may have changed the outcome of the battle and possibly the war. As a person who loves history, especially military history, I’ve always been fascinated with why the outcome of a battle happened the way it did … and at what point the tide turned? Who made the correct decision, and who was responsible for the final choice in the action?

  The cool thing about being a paranormal investigator and a student of history is that I get to actually attempt to capture a moment in time. What were the sounds of battle, the Union huzza or the infamous rebel yell as one side or the other gains a momentary advantage, or maybe the call of the wounded pleading for help? In modern times, much of the conflict has been captured by battlefield reporters in real time. As a battlefield historian and a sensitive, I endeavor to dig down into the event on a psychic level. I can equate this with the work of archeologists as they dig through the layers of earth to discover who fought and died on the battlefield, how the fighting flowed across the land, and where the fighting was most ferocious.

  Instead of digging through the soil, I dig through the historical firsthand accounts of soldiers who survived the action. In addition, I bring in people who have a psychic ability, meaning they can speak with or interact with those who have died in the action to determine if they have stayed behind or crossed over.

  To do this, I bring in talented individuals whom I call investigative mediums and sensitives. Having worked in this field for years, I’ve developed good working relationships with a few who share my methodology and investigative approach. I always bring them in cold, and by that I mean they have no prior knowledge of the investigative site. This allows me to accurately validate the information coming in through them with the historical facts I already know. It is also helpful that, as a sensitive, I’m privy to much of the information coming to the investigative medium or sensitive.

  Most paranormal investigators look at a haunting from the perspective of proving or disproving the existence or appearance of ghosts. Some research may be done on the history of the location and the people involved; it’s with an eye to further the investigator’s own objective. However, I believe the focus should be on validating the historical event, so I approach every investigation as a roving historical reporter. I attempt to get the spirits to interact with the investigative team and let the ghosts/spirits tell their story. When you approach an investigation from this perspective, you’re actively practicing paranormal archaeology, giving yourself the ability to gather clues and information without disturbing the ground or structures around you.

  Being a historian and a sensitive certainly has its advantages in the study of paranormal archaeology. As a sensitive, I ensure that I only use the information coming to me to validate the historical facts I already know. I’ll let the other sensitives share what they’re getting first and then add that to what I’ve received. Because I familiarize myself with the history of each investigative site, I can quickly ascertain if the information coming in from another sensitive or medium is correct and validate the historical event.

  There’s an added bonus when approaching an investigation using paranormal archaeology. Sometimes one of the team members gets a mostly unknown or hidden tidbit of information during the investigation that corroborates well-known historical facts, but it may alter our current understanding of how that particular event unfolded. You can literally rewrite the history books!

  My journey into paranormal archaeology began in 2004 when I was asked to come on to the Michael Medved Show. Yes, it was a surprise at the time, but the producer of the radio talk show said that Michael believed he had experienced a paranormal event while sleeping on Cemetery Ridge near the Copse of Trees on the Gettysburg Battlefield. In brief, Michael said that he and a friend were hitchhiking in the 1970s and got a ride to Gettysburg. It was late, so they decided to roll out their sleeping bags and sleep right on the battlefield (Back then you could get away with that!). At about two in the morning, Michael woke up, but he couldn’t determine what woke him. As he sat up, he saw a glowing light around a dozen figures running on the backside of the ridge (on the south side away from the Emmitsburg Turnpike) coming toward Michael and his friend. The men were armed and he was alarmed, thinking they were in trouble. Michael realized that the figures made no sound and seemed intent on something beyond him. He shook his friend, but he was already awake and had his head in the sleeping bag. Michael watched the men coming on, realizing that the color of their uniforms were butternut and gray. He didn’t share this with anyone until 2004 when the Washington Post did an article on my team and me. When he saw the story, he contacted me to share his personal Gettysburg paranormal event for the first time. I filed his story away, thinking it was a great experience and that I would get to share it in one of my lectures or classes.

  It wasn’t until 2009, when I was doing some research on known burial sites on the Gettysburg Battlefield, that I came across a piece of history not widely referenced. Made by S. G. Elliot & Company in 1864, it’s called the Elliot Map. According to Elliot, the cartographer, it was an accurate survey of the battlefield grounds by transient and chain measurements. Elliott was commissioned by Congress to accurately lay out the three days’ actions of the Battle of Gettysburg. He was to include the position of units before, during, and after the fight along with breastworks, lunettes, and rifle pits. He was also able to accurately place group and individual gravesites on and off the battlefield, as all of the dead were still interred in the fields. Elliot had no way of accurately measuring the number of dead in a mass grave, so he had to estimate based on interviews with townspeople who helped with the burials or the landowners where the mass gravesites were located.

  It’s important to understand that during the Civil War there were two ways of burying the dead. Many were buried right on the battlefield where they died in combat; these could be individual or mass graves. The soldiers who were wounded and later died in the hospitals were moved about five miles from the hospital and buried. This was done because doctors worried about disease from the dead affecting other wounded soldiers. Due to the fact that Elliot’s map was created in a timely manner after the battle, and with such accuracy, he was able to precisely locate graves of soldiers and even where horses died. His map is a virtual ebb and flow of the battle.

  I was looking over the map near the area called the High Watermark of the Confederacy. This is where Confederate Gen. Lewis Armistead crossed the wall near the Bloody Angle and, along with some fellow Virginians, pierced the Union line. Armistead was mortally wounded as he reached the first set of Union guns. The Elliot map showed that eighty Confederates were buried at the point where Armistead fell. This falls into line with the firsthand accounts stating that about two hundred Virginians crossed the wall with Armistead and almost half fell on the field. Elliot marked that all of the graves to the right of Taneytown Road were from hospital deaths, while those to the left of the road were buried where they fell during the battle. This was a common practice of the day.

  Elliot marked thirty-six Union graves south of the Copse of Trees (COT). As I was counting the Union graves, I noticed that there were two Confederate graves just west of the COT, past the rock wall on the north slope of Cemetery Ridge. Although there are no references in any firsthand accounts, Elliot clearly indicates another six rebel graves eighty yards south of the COT, well past the Union batteries.

  This caused me to sit back and think about all of the various firsthand accounts I had read about the July 2nd and 3rd day’s actions around the COT. I didn’t recall any account that mentioned Confederates on this part of the field, so I looked through my notes from my many visits to that part of the battlefield. Although I felt the presence of Confede
rates around various spots near the COT, I assumed they were just residual energies from the third day’s action or what I call “walk-through” ghosts (meaning spirits that are just passing through).

  Looking at the map again, I noticed that there were thirty-three individual Confederate graves about 200 yards south of the COT and approximately 250 yards west of Meade’s headquarters. The Elliot Map shows two structures at this location, and they’re still there today. Whoa! I thought, What the hell is this?! Like so many of the soldiers who died on this battlefield, these Confederates would have been buried where they fell during combat, and this spot was well behind the Union defensive lines.

  Continuing to reference the Elliot Map, I counted sixty-nine Union graves between the six Confederate graves south of the COT and the thirty-three additional Confederate graves in the field at the Leister House. There are also another ten Union soldiers buried on the north side of Taneytown Road, just beyond the two structures west of Meade’s headquarters.

  Accepted historical accounts tell us the High Watermark of the Confederacy is just east of the COT, where General Armistead was mortally wounded on the third day of the battle. However, the Elliot Map clearly indicates the presence of Confederate soldiers where history tells us they shouldn’t have been. This map is worthy of serious consideration because it was commissioned by the U. S. Congress and completed within a year after the battle. At that time, eyewitnesses were still alive, the scars on the landscape were still evident, and the graves were still clearly visible. This area between the crest of Cemetery Ridge and the almost 200 yards to Taneytown Road obviously saw some serious action. This is a location where common history tells us no fighting took place!