10/31/2003

Whatever we think about Civil War history, it provides a lot of material for ghost stories.

The level of historical detail varies a great deal in these Civil War ghost stories. For instance:

“She said she and five others watched the ghost of a Confederate soldier hide behind some nearby bushes for several minutes...”

You could be a high school dropout and file a report like that. “How was it dressed, ma’am?” “Uh, kind of a Civil War era uniform, I think.” “What color, ma’am?” “Mmmm, gray, I think.”

On the other hand, if you have read deeply in the Civil War, you can use that in the ghost witness department.

“Civil War general and senator John Logan is also said to return to the old Military Affairs Committee room, with the door to the room quietly opening and the general appearing, surrounded by a blue haze.”

“Who’s that ghost in the door, surrounded by the Union blue haze, sir?”

“Why, let’s see … handlebar mustache, dark hair, medium build … That would have to be Black Jack Logan!”

If you are a PhD or doctor of veterinary science, there’s even something for your level of analysis.

“In the 1930s workmen discovered a sealed-up room containing what many believed was Logan's stuffed horse.” Imagine the list of Civil War generals’ horses they would have had to go through before they reached L - Logan. ‘Here it is, at last!”

This would have been like Curse of the Mummy, except there was no curse. Just a horse mummy in a tomb in Congress positively linked to a ghost, still in Congress, still actively attending meetings.

Civil War history is a “living” tradition.