A tradition since 1996 - Please observe all NPS rules when on the Battlefield; Be respectful of this hallowed ground and grant the spirits who dwell here
the dignity they deserve!
Left: 73rd NY (2nd Fire Zouaves) Monument on
Excelsior Field at sunset (Photo by JDW)
“...but it was evident that a large number of the men who had passed us moments before in the flush of health and youth had gone on forever.” - Private William H. Warren, Historian of the 17th CT Volunteers
Gettysburg. The largest battle ever fought on the North American continent. Casualty totals - particularly on the Confederate side - vary greatly, but it is generally accepted over 6,000 were killed during the 3 days. Many more would perish in the weeks afterward as the town and surrounding countryside became "A Vast Sea of Misery" (as author Greg Coco appropriately named his excellent book on the post-battle field hospitals) Can you think of a place more likely to be haunted?
Like so many people, something tugged at the soul of John Weaver when he first visited the battlefield in the early 1960s. Childhood fascination with Devils Den and climbing observation towers eventually gave way to exploring lesser known areas of the field. The history attracted him, but he knew there was something else there - something felt, but unseen. (An unexplained and intense cold spot experienced by John while walking the route of Pickett's assault on a hot July 3 in the early 1980s confirmed there were strange things that happen here) In 1989, John met Kelly, who of course is now his wife. A common interest they shared was the paranormal and he first took her to Gettysburg the following year. One of the places they visited was Iverson's Pits, out on Oak Ridge. She had "felt" many things in many areas that day, but when visiting this spot, some strange details came to mind. She told him of feeling a young man, a first name only - "Jimmy". Kelly then stunned John when she said he was from "Durrim". Having told Kelly nothing about who fought and died at the spot, the way she pronounced the city of Durham in the manner of a native North Carolinian was an early confirmation of her ability to connect with the "Other Side". (Approx. 300 members of Alfred Iverson's Brigade were killed here, led directly into an entrenched unseen Federal line; until several years after the battle, they lie buried in long shallow trenches - "pits" - that marked their last formation.)
In 1991, a year after Kelly's first visit to Gettysburg, they were excited to learn of a new book, Ghosts of Gettysburg written by a former Park Ranger, Mark Nesbitt. Given what she revealed there, it pleased us to find a story on Iverson's Pits included. We soon met Mark for the first time, on a bus tour of haunted sites sponsored by a local college. While walking the once bloody fields that blustery March afternoon, he emphasized that with farm workers on the land owned by John Forney being terrified of the spot after the battle, that this became the source of the very first ghost stories to emerge from Gettysburg. Mark's superb book added a new dimension to the historic town and battlefield -- the paranormal. Its popularity spawned 4 additional volumes, ghost tours based on his books, books and tours by competitors and crowds flocking to the battlefield at night in hopes of seeing an apparition themselves.
As interest in the spirit world blossomed through the internet, Kelly and John Weaver started the Capital Ghost Forum in 1996. Its proximity offers great opportunities for investigation, despite the fact that certain areas can be overrun with thrillseekers who only want a scare and care little about the hallowed ground they walk upon. Effective investigations and gathering of evidence is not conducive to large crowds, thus we suggest members minimize their numbers on the battlefield. As a group and as individuals, we've learned a lot about ghosthunting over the past 12 years, thanks to these hallowed grounds in Adams County.
There are several places on the battlefield where Kelly's (and other sensitives) ability to connect with the other side seems to draw a regular "crowd". John often says that she is used as "bait" to stimulate activity, and we have collected considerable evidence over the years to substantiate this. Along with re-enactors, another form of "bait" we have used is Brutus, the American Bulldog of the late Ed Dubil, who regularly drove over 100 miles from the Wilkes-Barre area with his father Ed Sr. It seems the spirits, who as soldiers more often than not had dogs as beloved regimental mascots, easily connect with this handsome, gentle canine. There is someone else who, being sensitive to the energies here, that we must recognize: The late Cecil Downing, lovingly known to our group as "Uncle Cece".
Kelly's great uncle, Cecil (shown in photo below) was a Master Dowser who found nearly 1000 wells prior to his death at age 78 in 2002. He was also her mentor, helping her to understand her own "gift". It was fascinating to watch as his dowsing rods showed the real location of the 20th Maine's left flank, the exact spot where General Reynolds was killed or the heightened areas of energy in the Triangular Field. Anyone who had the privilege of being with him on the battlefield will never forget it.
IVERSON'S PIT'S ROSE WOODS FARNSWORTH'S CHARGE
VARIOUS LOCATIONS JENNIE WADE HOUSE
Rt: CDV of Kelly Weaver's G-G-G-Uncle, Capt. John B. Dibeler, Co. B, 45th PA. Mustered in July 1862, he saw action in virtually every major eastern engagement except Gettysburg, (The 9th Corps was sent west after Fredericksburg to assist in Grant's siege of Vicksburg, returning east in time for the Wilderness.) Capt. Dibeler survived the war , serving for the duration (he was captured at Petersburg on July 30, 1864, and escaped March 1865). Kelly and I have walked in his footsteps near Burnsides Bridge at Antietam.
Lt: Photo of the late Ed Dubil jr's G-G-Grandfather, Allen Puterbaugh, who was at Gettysburg with PA Independent Battery C, Thompsons Light Artillery and was nearly overrun in the Peach Orchard. Enlisting in Aug 1861, he saw action in vitually every major eastern engagement from Fair Oaks to the fall of Petersburg. Ed lives in the house built by his GG Grandfather and G-Grandfather. Ed's G G Uncle, Alexander Puterbaugh, also served the Union.
