Ghost walk
My copy of "The Ghost Hunter's Field Guide..Gettysburg and Beyond, by Mark Nesbitt" is well worn and has proven to be a valuble resource when I have visited Gettysburg. One of the statements he makes has stood out in my mind and gives you something to think about.
I am not quoting it exactly the way it reads in the book, but it is something to this effect.
"Five-One thousand men were killed or wounded in the three day battle. Out of this three days they actually fought about 24 hours. When broken down this means that for every hour that they fought 2,125 men were shot. Every minute of that 24 hours 36 men where hit, so every two seconds a man was hit. For twenty-four hours."
When most of us think of this three day battle we tend to think of those men, but what is sometimes forgotten is the people who lived in the town of Gettysburg.
On June 1st of 1863 the town of Gettysburg had a population of 2,400. I was told on a recent tour of one of the homes in the area that when the troops pulled out on July 4th, that approx. 23,000 men were left behind. Almost every home had to take in a wounded solider or help to bury the bodies. A lot of these men died within the weeks that followed. It's little wonder with these statistics that Gettysburg is haunted. And of course being haunted everyone has a story to tell.
Look on any corner and you will find some sort of "Ghost Walk"
Mark Nesbitt "Ghost of Gettysburg" tour has been nominated as the #1 tour in Gettysburg, but for my trip this time we choose a different company to take a walk with. We opted for Sleepy Hollow tours.
Sleepy Hollow of Gettysburg Candlelight Ghost Tours is owned and operated by Cindy Codori-Shultz. Cindy is the 6th generation granddaughter of Nicholas Codori, of the Codori Farm, site of Pickett's Charge. Although Cindy did not give the tour the night we went we did have the opportunity to meet her while there and enjoyed talking with her. She seems like a very nice lady and her tour guides were well informed and interesting.
The night we took our tour we went with Amanda
She was a delight and told us several very interesting stories. Unlike the worst ghost tour I ever took in Richmond VA where we were rushed up and down hills and told stories at such a fast pace that we got very little out of the story I was pleased not only with Amanda's story telling ability, but also with the pace at which she told her stories and the way she lead the tour. She made sure everyone was together before she started talking, gave us time for questions and photos and seemed generally interested in having us as her guest.
I will try and relate some of those stories in my next post
I am not quoting it exactly the way it reads in the book, but it is something to this effect.
"Five-One thousand men were killed or wounded in the three day battle. Out of this three days they actually fought about 24 hours. When broken down this means that for every hour that they fought 2,125 men were shot. Every minute of that 24 hours 36 men where hit, so every two seconds a man was hit. For twenty-four hours."
When most of us think of this three day battle we tend to think of those men, but what is sometimes forgotten is the people who lived in the town of Gettysburg.
On June 1st of 1863 the town of Gettysburg had a population of 2,400. I was told on a recent tour of one of the homes in the area that when the troops pulled out on July 4th, that approx. 23,000 men were left behind. Almost every home had to take in a wounded solider or help to bury the bodies. A lot of these men died within the weeks that followed. It's little wonder with these statistics that Gettysburg is haunted. And of course being haunted everyone has a story to tell.
Look on any corner and you will find some sort of "Ghost Walk"
Mark Nesbitt "Ghost of Gettysburg" tour has been nominated as the #1 tour in Gettysburg, but for my trip this time we choose a different company to take a walk with. We opted for Sleepy Hollow tours.
Sleepy Hollow of Gettysburg Candlelight Ghost Tours is owned and operated by Cindy Codori-Shultz. Cindy is the 6th generation granddaughter of Nicholas Codori, of the Codori Farm, site of Pickett's Charge. Although Cindy did not give the tour the night we went we did have the opportunity to meet her while there and enjoyed talking with her. She seems like a very nice lady and her tour guides were well informed and interesting.
The night we took our tour we went with Amanda
She was a delight and told us several very interesting stories. Unlike the worst ghost tour I ever took in Richmond VA where we were rushed up and down hills and told stories at such a fast pace that we got very little out of the story I was pleased not only with Amanda's story telling ability, but also with the pace at which she told her stories and the way she lead the tour. She made sure everyone was together before she started talking, gave us time for questions and photos and seemed generally interested in having us as her guest.
I will try and relate some of those stories in my next post
posted by Patty at
Saturday, June 06, 2009
4 Comments:
It sounds like you had a very nice tour. I look forward to hearing some of the stories! :)
Take Care,
Debbie
Really enjoying your Gettysburg posts.
My childhood home in Chestnut Hill Philadelphia was built on the site of the largest Civil War Hospital:
http://www.lcpimages.org/inventories/mower/mower_gallery.htm
http://www.webspawner.com/users/spsci80/index.html
It was torn down immediately following the war.
I had many creepy nights in that house, even though it was 'brand new' and we were the 'original' owners. My father told me once that our house was built on the site of such a hospital, but we didn't think too much of it ... other than it was a bit of interesting history. We had a very intense, OCD neighbor who excavated literal mountains of stone from his yard that must have been the archeological remains (we didn't make that connection then). I myself never made the connection to why my childhood nights were so filled with scary vibes and experiences ... I thought it was just that all kids are afraid of the dark,etc. It wasn't until years later that I confirmed the hospital's existence (via the web) and it's location (if I read the map right, my house was near the front entrance) ... and until I lived in a couple of very "clean vibe" houses where the nights were calm and peaceful ... that I have realized the place where I grew up was likely very charged with paranormal phenomena, with good reason. And that my experiences may not have been my imagination.
Cheers.
Can't wait!
I enjoy Mark Nesbitt's books, my particular favorite is of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. We've done his ghost walk here in Fredericksburg, they stories were neat. I'd love to do his tour in Gettysburg one day! Have you had the opportunity to hear him speak?
I think the guides ability to story tell tends to make all the difference on the tour. We had an experience much like yours in Richmond in Williamsburg last summer. I was SO disappointed, it seemed I knew the stories and history more than our guide.
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