Civil War Ghost Stories & Legends

The Timely Apparitions

0000 PetersburgFrom mid-June, 1864, through March, 1865, a number of engagements were fought south and west of Petersburg, Virginia. In March, 1865, General Robert E. Lee's attack on Fort Stedman failed to force General Ulysses S. Grant back. His last supply line cut, Lee was forced to evacuate Petersburg on April 2, 1865. Petersburg National Battlefield is at Petersburg, Virginia, twenty-six miles south ofRichmond on Interstate 85. 000 THE TIMELY ApPARITIONS Petersburg, Virginia It had been a disastrous day for the Confederacy. One tragic blow after another had fallen. Lieutenant General A. P. Hill had been killed trying to close a breach in the Confederate line near Hatcher's Run, west of the city of Petersburg; Fort Gregg had been overwhelmed; and in the final battle of the day, Federal forces had cut the tracks of the South Side Railroad. That night in the darkness, regiment after regiment of ragged, worn Confederates began marching out of Petersburg . Their orders from General Lee were to evacuate the city, cross to the north side of the Appomattox River, and begin the trek westward. The men were tired and dispirited from the day's fighting. Some would probably have deserted when the orders to march came had it not been for their love of Lee. The evacuation meant the end for the city of Petersburg. Arriving Union officers headquartered in Centre Hill, 161 162 Petersburg, Virginia one of the city's most beautiful homes, built by Robert Bolling in 1823. Four days after the officers entered Petersburg , Lincoln visited General George L. Hartsuff at Centre Hill to tour the city that had been the Union's long sought objective. An officer belonging to Hartsuff's staff, not feeling well, had decided to spend the evening in his room. He was alone on the second floor-Hartsuff and the other Federal officers having left to attend a dinner party more than an hour before-when he heard the door to the office beneath him opening. He started to rise and investigate. Then it occurred to him that one ofthe men had probably come back to get something that had been forgotten or even to fetch something for the general. Again he settled himself in his bed and looked at his watch. Since it was 7:30 P.M. on the 24th of January, it had been dark for more than an hour. Although he had convinced himself that one of the officers had returned for something, he heard hinges creak loudly and the sound ofa door thrust open with such force that it struck the wall. This noise was followed by the sound of marching footsteps and the clank of weapons. The Union officer seized his revolver and rushed out into the hall, gazing agitatedly in both directions. The hall was empty, but in regular rhythm, throughout the entire house, he heard the distinct tread of marching feet. Beads ofperspiration began to form on his forehead. He resisted the impulse to dash back into his room, slam the door, and bolt the lock. The footsteps in the hall were loudest right beside him. He stood there trembling. He heard the marchers' heavy tramp-tramp-tramp going down the stairs, boots scraping each tread as they 163 The Timely Apparitions went striding across the floor of the entrance hall. Finally the front door slammed. By now the men must be out ofthe house and in the street below. Rushing over to the windows ofhis room he threw open the velvet drapes and stared out. The yellow glare of the gas street lamps illuminated an empty street. According to author L. B. Taylor, Jr., who wrote The Ghosts ofRichmond ... AndNearby Environs, so regular was the procession that owners of Centre Hill invited friends and neighbors in to experience the event. The phenomena of the Ghost Brigade was an annual occurrence each January 24th at 7:30 P.M., and the sound of it could be heard throughout the Hill. In her book Marguerite DuPont Lee describes the sequence of events as they occurred: "On that day of the year, the clock pointing to the half hour, the door leading into the office was heard to open. Then came a noise such as of a regiment of soldiers marching! The clank of sabers suggested the occupation of those tramping along the passage; up the stairs and into a room over the office...