Experience at Shiloh

[NH Civil War Gal]

From an anonymous source:

I have had a experience at Shiloh. I was walking down the sunken road never the Hornets nest and I heard in the field across from it horses galloping and I turned around an nothing was there. Really made me wonder.

@Ole Miss here is a Shiloh thing for you

 

[Johnny Shafto]

From an anonymous source:

I have had a experience at Shiloh. I was walking down the sunken road never the Hornets nest and I heard in the field across from it horses galloping and I turned around an nothing was there. Really made me wonder.

@Ole Miss here is a Shiloh thing for you

It does make one wonder. I had a similar experience while hiking Grand Canyon south rim. Months later I discovered I was in the general vicinity of where historians estimate the Spanish explorer Garcia Lopez de Cardenas and his men first encountered the canyon. Echoes of history? Having walked the sunken road this report gives me chills. Although I have no explanation for the experience I both believe and identify. Next time I'll be listening!

 

[Ole Miss]

I suppose I am not attuned to the spirits as I have not had any manifestations in the 63 years I have been visiting Shiloh National Military Park. I have read of folks experiences of encountering or seeing phenomena on Civil War battlefields but alas not me.
Regards
David

 

[19thOhio]

Standing at the exact spot where the 19th OH was on day two as determined by two monuments and the Official Records, I tried to imagine the cacophony they would have undergone instead of the peaceful park I was experiencing. I was able to trace on foot one of the movements mentioned in the OR.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I have read of folks experiences of encountering or seeing phenomena on Civil War battlefields but alas not me.

From an anonymous source:

I have had a experience at Shiloh. I was walking down the sunken road never the Hornets nest and I heard in the field across from it horses galloping and I turned around an nothing was there. Really made me wonder.

I don't wish to "dive too deep" into this topic tonight,
But back during the 1990's, I had a few employees from Vicksburg working in my Natchez office.

They never claimed to have seen anything strange ... but swore their Grandfathers often claimed to have seen/heard phenomena
all over Vicksburg.

I had no reason to doubt these young people.

After all, what they were saying was nothing new.
The exact same accounts had been said for the last 160 plus years

 

[Johnny Shafto]

Ironically it may be that the harder one tries to experience something like this the less likely it would be to occur. In my case I was caught completely by surprise and the event was over almost before it occurred. No forethought, no expectations, nothing but before and after. No sense of time involved. And nothing even remotely similar has occurred in the many years since on a battlefield or elsewhere.

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Wonder if one was unaware of the history of the place and what happened there, whether they would have had the same sensory experience.

Imagination can influence perceptions (so that natural environmental cues can be interpreted in various ways).

 

[Johnny Shafto]

Wonder if one was unaware of the history of the place and what happened there, whether they would have had the same sensory experience.

Imagination can influence perceptions (so that natural environmental cues can be interpreted in various ways).

Nathan, Good question. But in my original response to @NH Civil War Gal I mentioned I was completely unaware of the history until quite sometime after the occurrence. Does this singular experience convince me of anything otherworldly? No. But whatever the catalyst I did experience something…with visuals no less. (Let the eye rolling begin) Had it not been my personal experience, and with my tendency to be skeptical, I would certainly take such stories with a grain of salt. But it does promote "wonder". I was hiking solo at the time. Had there been others I have no idea if there would be corroboration. Doubtful. Just because I'm crazy doesn't mean it's contagious. No attempts to retrace and recreate. As this did not occur in the context of CWT my participation in this thread ends here which will likely elicit several

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Nathan, Good question. But in my original response to @NH Civil War Gal I mentioned I was completely unaware of the history until quite sometime after the occurrence. Does this singular experience convince me of anything otherworldly? No. But whatever the catalyst I did experience something…with visuals no less. (Let the eye rolling begin) Had it not been my personal experience, and with my tendency to be skeptical, I would certainly take such stories with a grain of salt. But it does promote "wonder". I was hiking solo at the time. Had there been others I have no idea if there would be corroboration. Doubtful. Just because I'm crazy doesn't mean it's contagious. No attempts to retrace and recreate. As this did not occur in the context of CWT my participation in this thread ends here which will likely elicit several

I think your experience makes it very believable. My cousins had an experience at their 200 year old home, early in the evening, many years ago. At at least five of them were there and they all heard it. I'll write about it when I'm not on my iPhone.

 

[NH Civil War Gal]

Okay, I'm back on my iPad. My cousins (and I) live in 200+ year-old-homes, about 5 miles apart. I've had one experience here definitely not unpleasant but just a bit odd, but nothing like they had.

The boys were young men at the time and they have a dirt driveway. I heard this directly from "the boys" still living - all in their 70s. It was an ordinary summer evening on their farm. They were done with haying and this is important - they had mechanical tractors at this point. They were sitting in their living room with the windows open and they heard shouting and they actually heard the sound of chains dragging and the sound of oxen coming up the driveway and being driven up the driveway and dragging the chains and men driving them. ALL of them heard it. They jumped up to see this as it was quite loud and they could hear random words ox drivers use and hear the beasts. As they all went outside not a thing was there and all was quiet. Sixty years on and they still talk about it. A time slip or something definitely happened. They didn't imagine it and they weren't drinking. They hadn't even had supper yet.

The nearest neighbors at the time (and in the 1960s when I would ride my horse that way) were over a mile away on either side and didn't have oxen.

Edited to add: @pmuskett @Package4 @Stone in the wall I thought you guys might find my cousin's experience interesting.

None of them were liars and especially my cousin Bruce was NOT one to pull gags or jokes. They all took this very seriously and felt it was a moment from a past time they experienced.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

None of them were liars and especially my cousin Bruce was NOT one to pull gags or jokes. They all took this very seriously and felt it was a moment from a past time they experienced.

And that's exactly why I believe guys like your cousin.

 

[tony_gunter]

I don't wish to "dive too deep" into this topic tonight,
But back during the 1990's, I had a few employees from Vicksburg working in my Natchez office.

They never claimed to have seen anything strange ... but swore their Grandfathers often claimed to have seen/heard phenomena
all over Vicksburg.

I had no reason to doubt these young people.

After all, what they were saying was nothing new.
The exact same accounts had been said for the last 160 plus years

I have been all over the Vicksburg area at night. Our boy scout troop used to camp in the park at Thayer's Approach. I ain't never seen sh-

 

[redbob]

I suppose I am not attuned to the spirits as I have not had any manifestations in the 63 years I have been visiting Shiloh National Military Park. I have read of folks experiences of encountering or seeing phenomena on Civil War battlefields but alas not me.
Regards
David

I'm more concerned about ticks, chiggers and snakes when I'm at Shiloh than I am about haints.

 

[OldSarge79]

I was walking down the sunken road never the Hornets nest and I heard in the field across from it horses galloping and I turned around an nothing was there.

Well, I'll throw in my two-cents worth.
About 5 years ago I was walking our property line, which on one side goes through some woods, somewhat along a ridge line. It was the middle of the day and in fairly thick woods. Suddenly I heard a horse galloping about 20 feet away. It lasted for just a few seconds and I expected to see someone's loose horse crashing through the brush, but there was no crashing and it went quiet very promptly. In reality, it would be impossible for a horse to gallop there, the trees and brush were so thick.
I know what a galloping horse sounds like. My wife and I have the ONLY horses in our area, and they were in the barn.
I've wondered about that ever since. Did something happen there many years ago, perhaps when it was cleared land?

 

[Nathan Stuart]

When I visited Shiloh many years ago, I can recall feeling a certain eeriness of the place, but it was not in an off-putting way. Thought my sensory experience was induced by the cold weather, the onset of darkness, as well as the whistling noises heard of the wind travelling through the woods and rustling leaves. At the time, I thought I heard the sounds of shouting soldiers charging through the woods with the noises made by the wind. (Before I went there, I was also fairly well acquainted with accounts of the battle).

Upon reflection later, I realized that I felt a bit spooked while there, but it was an explicable experience. My perceptions of the wind noises in that cold place near nightfall, were based on what I had previously read . My mind was filled with all the stories of what happened there, and I believe my imagination had overwhelmed me, caused by the cues of nature. I attributed a different interpretation and meaning to the natural events that occurred that day at that place.

In summation. It was the combination of the natural setting and what I knew, that explained my sensory experiences on the day. It may have been a different matter, requiring another possible explanation, if I had the same sensory experiences devoid of any knowledge of the history of the vicinity.

 

[Georgia Sixth]

I'm more concerned about ticks, chiggers and snakes when I'm at Shiloh than I am about haints.

You're a wise. man.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I have been all over the Vicksburg area at night. Our boy scout troop used to camp in the park at Thayer's Approach. I ain't never seen sh-

Hah, same here.
I've never seen anything supernatural within the park either. I was only relaying what my Vicksburg employees said.

"Back in the day" ... when the park was never locked (1970's 1980's) , I've spent many nights around the Illinois monument.
It was a great spooky location for our little girlfriends to have an "adventure" at 2:00am. But that was a highlight of our return trip across the river. Our main purpose earlier in the evening was to drive over and buy some of that illegal Coors beer in Louisiana.

We were never worried about ghosts, but only one specific Vicksburg Police Officer known for his DUI/DWI awards.
I won't mention the officer's name, but you probably know who I'm talking about.

 

[tony_gunter]

Hah, same here.
I've never seen anything supernatural within the park either. I was only relaying what my Vicksburg employees said.

"Back in the day" ... when the park was never locked (1970's 1980's) , I've spent many nights around the Illinois monument.
It was a great spooky location for our little girlfriends to have an "adventure" at 2:00am. But that was a highlight of our return trip across the river. Our main purpose earlier in the evening was to drive over and buy some of that illegal Coors beer in Louisiana.

We were never worried about ghosts, but only one specific Vicksburg Police Officer known for his DUI/DWI awards.
I won't mention the officer's name, but you probably know who I'm talking about.

Ha! I didn't have enough money to drink back then. I did sleep in the Illinois monument one frigid night in a moment of homeless desperation when it started raining.

 

[Kathy the history sleuth]

From an anonymous source:

I have had a experience at Shiloh. I was walking down the sunken road never the Hornets nest and I heard in the field across from it horses galloping and I turned around an nothing was there. Really made me wonder.

@Ole Miss here is a Shiloh thing for you

Shiloh is so heavy and spooky. Anything can happen.

 

[bamaman]

Shiloh is so heavy and spooky. Anything can happen.

I know it was not a CW site but the heavy atmosphere I experienced at the Alamo was profound. Little Round Top and Valley Forge were like that also