Civil War Ghosts

1. The Tillie Pierce House

Gettysburg, PA

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Tillie Pierce, was only 15 years old when the Civil War broke out in her hometown of Gettysburg. Some stories, buried deep in American history, are too dark. And because of that many feels that they are best left forgotten. The tale of Tillie Pierce is one such story. In late June 1863, while attending finishing school in town, young Tillie heard screams echoing through the streets: "The Rebels are coming! The Rebels are coming!" Her classmates rushed out of the school to see the commotion. On the field outside of town, a dark mass of men approached; it was thousands of soldiers ready to kill. Tillie's teacher immediately ordered her students to run home. The girls darted down the streets, scattering throughout the sleepy town. Shortly after, when the sounds of battle grew nearer, Tillie's parents sent the young girl to stay at a friend's house behind a landmark known as Little Round Top, a rocky hill safely outside of town. Little Round Top was the site of one of the bloodiest skirmishes in the Battle of Gettysburg. As a result, the house where Tillie stayed was used as a makeshift hospital. The scenes of gore and terror that she saw were extreme and the horror burned into her memory. 25 years later she could write about them in detail. It was as if some part of her always remained that frightened 15-year-old girl. Today, the house is an inn and guests have reported moans coming from the darkened hallways and the apparition of a girl in the window.