Gettysburg

Gettysburg

The bloodiest battle on American soil took place in Gettysburg
PA on July 1, 2, and 3, 1863. The town still wears the scars of
those 3 days during the Civil War. September 2005 presented
an opportunity for 3 of us and a guest investigator to
investigate this spectacular town that witnessed such an
extraordinary battle.

We left Saturday morning, after a huge breakfast, and arrived
in Gettysburg approximately 1pm. We were amazed at how
crowded it was. We couldn't even find a parking space along
Baltimore Pike. Then we found out why: There was an antique
show going on. Note to selves: plan to go back when no
major events are happening.

We walked up and down Baltimore Pike, in awe at how
well-preserved everything was. We saw the house where
Jennie Wade was born, and we saw the Jennie Wade House
Museum, although we didn't have time to tour either. We saw
the outside of the Farnsworth House, where you can see the
remains of sharpshooters' bullets. Tom "navigated" Heidi
right into the Roundabout in the center of town, even though
she begged him to plan alternate routes ahead of time. As it
turns out, by the time we left Gettysburg Sunday afternoon,
Heidi was a pro at driving around the Roundabout.

After a disappointing meal at Gettysbrew (we highly
recommend seeing the place and reading the history, but the
service leaves a lot to be desired), we checked in at our hotel
then set out to explore the battlefields. A short drive later, we
were walking through the Wheatfield, Triangular Field, and
Devil's Den.

The place was absolutely packed. Everywhere you turned, you
saw and heard people. We waited until dark, hoping it would
clear out some, but it seemed to get even busier at night. This
made it impossible to do an actual investigation, so we took
video and pictures, and got a few minutes of EVP data in
between groups of people coming and going. We did not
detect any EMF spikes, other than when one of us would hold
the meter close to a camera (oops). No temperature
differences were felt. Even without a proper investigation, we
still had some great experiences and found the area nothing
less than awesome. We've decided to try to make this an
annual stop, and would like to go back during the week next
time in hopes it won't be quite as crowded.

We did manage to get some time alone on the Wheatfield. It's
a rather large area, so we were able to split into smaller
groups for EMF and EVP sweeps. Watching the sun set on the
field is the most serene and peaceful scene, considering what
took place on that very ground so many years before. Tom and
Heidi worked near the New York monument, while Jodie and
Kendra spanned the entire field.

Sunday morning, we explored Evergreen Cemetery. The
earliest stone we found was a husband and wife, with the
husband passing in the 1750's and the wife in (I believe) the
1780's. Wow. These people were actually born in the 1600's.
Doesn't that just blow your mind? We found where Jennie
Wade was buried for the final time, and several interesting
grave markers.

Next stop: The National Cemetery. Beautiful and picturesque,
this lot seems to have one of every tree in America planted
here. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it is really something to
see. The monuments in this cemetery are immense, and some
are downright spooky. It's a very serene experience.

Our final stop in Gettysburg was for lunch at the Springhouse
Tavern, located in the basement of the Dobbin House Tavern.
The place was only open for 15 minutes when we got there,
and it was already nearly packed. The workers are dressed in
period clothing, and there's an actual spring in the corner.
The lights are extremely dim, and every table has a candle,
which adds to the ambiance. The bar was made in 1818, and
the furniture and decor is something I wouldn't want to miss.
To make this experience even better, the food was absolutely
delicious, the choices plentiful, and the prices were moderate
for this type of tourist attraction.

While we truly believe there are many paranormal experiences
to be had in Gettysburg, we were not fortunate enough to
have the time or opportunity to record any of it. Keep
checking back for updates, as we hope to make another trip in
the spring of 2006.

UPDATE:

Upon reviewing our data, we have found 3 EVP recordings, all
of which came from the Wheatfield. We are having the digital
recordings "cleaned up" and amplified. We are, needless to
say, extremely excited about this awesome find. Check back in
the coming weeks to read about what was recorded on the
EVP, and hopefully we will be able to post the actual
recordings.