Civil War Ghosts

15. Little Round Top

Gettysburg, PA

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There are many different types of paranormal activity visible to the human eye. Apparitions and phantoms are some of the more obvious supernatural sights, but often inexplicable, nebulous mists and glowing orbs are noticeable as well. Little Round Top is another site where people often come in contact with a supernatural presence, whether it is a pocket of cold air on a warm summer day, an eerie feeling, a smell of black gun powder in the air, or a light tap on the shoulder when no one is around. Don't be surprised if you experience some of these strange sensations while you explore the area. It is typical to encounter regiments of Civil War reenactors on the Gettysburg battlefield, marching toward each other to recreate the gruesome fighting. However, many report sightings of strangely realistic soldiers with threadbare and stained uniforms, bearing grim looks on their weather-beaten faces, and staring blankly into the fields and vanishing into the woods. Many speculate that these are the spirits of soldiers killed in the Battle of Gettysburg, doomed to wander over the grounds for eternity, their lives extinguished so quickly that they have not realized that they are no longer among the living. One such instance was reported on Little Round Top. It's a strict rule for reenactors to use blank cartridges filled only with powder and no live shot. Each reenactor goes through an inspection process before the reenactment begins, and anyone found with a live cartridge would be brought in front of a Federal judge and sentenced to a hefty fine or possible jail time. Needless to say, no reenactor ever would think of using live ammunition during a reenactment. During one reenactment, two Yankee reenactors relaxed on the peak of Little Round Top, taking in the view and pondering what the scene would've looked like during the actual battle over one hundred years ago. As they relaxed and talked they noticed another soldier coming up the hill. They were commenting to themselves about the extreme authenticity of his Union uniform when he approached them. "You boys may need these tomorrow", he said in his Yankee inflection and he handed them two ammunition cartridges and moved along ostensibly fading into the trees beyond the hill. The two reenactors examined the cartridges that the unnamed soldier handed them and found them to be what seemed like actual cartridges from the Civil War and as they felt them they noticed that each had a lead mini ball inside the paper, something that no reenactor would have. Both men kept their cartridges in storage after departing Gettysburg but found that within a month, the paper had disintegrated and the powder dissolved, leaving only the lead ball.