Gettysburg’s Haunted Hospital Woods
The Battle of Gettysburg stands as one of the most brutal and pivotal confrontations of the American Civil War. This clash between Union and Confederate forces turned the small town into a blood-soaked arena where brother fought against brother, and Americans were pitted against each other in a deadly struggle that would ultimately reshape the nation.
Beyond the staggering death toll, the battle also produced a multitude of wounded soldiers, each bearing injuries as random and varied as the men who carried them. The medical practices of the time, some of which were employed in the infamous Hospital Woods, added another layer of horror to the already gruesome scene.
Why is the Hospital Woods haunted?
The legends and stories surrounding Hospital Woods are a significant draw, revealing the malevolent nature of Civil War medicine and the lingering spirits born from such suffering. For those who wish to experience the spectral remnants of Gettysburg firsthand, book a Gettysburg ghost tour with Civil War Ghosts!
Malevolent Medicine of the Civil War
Civil War soldiers faced a new kind of horror when they were struck by lead balls traveling at 900 feet per second through the humid air. The impact pulverized bones, often necessitating immediate and brutal amputation due to the sheer volume of wounded men pouring into field hospitals like Hospital Woods. The ability to repair and set these shattered bones was virtually nonexistent, making amputation the most efficient treatment.
In cases where bullets struck the torso, the situation was even grimmer. Internal surgery was a rarity, and soldiers with such wounds were often left to die, made as comfortable as possible on a straw bale until they passed away.
The Establishment of Aid Stations
Recognizing the unsustainable nature of such medical practices, the Union Army began to organize field care more systematically. Aid stations like Hospital Woods were established to stabilize the wounded before they could be transported to larger field hospitals or safer locations for surgery.
Hospital Woods was set up in a clearing between two wood lots—a larger one to the northeast and a smaller one to the southwest. Over 500 tents were pitched in orderly rows to accommodate the wounded from surrounding field hospitals. These patients were eventually moved to Camp Letterman, where they received care from the Army Medical Department, the Christian Commission, and the Sanitary Commission.
An account from the time describes the scene:
‘The hospital lay in the rear of a deep wood, in a large open field a mile and a half from Gettysburg, overlooking it. The single line of rail connected the battletown with the outer world, winding through the woods. Five hundred hospital tents were set in rows, seeming like great fluttering pairs of white wings. The ground, soon hardened by many feet, was the only floor in the wards or quarters. Deaths occurred daily, but all that skill and careful nursing could do was being done for over 1,600 wounded men, making the camp population over 2,000, including surgeons, nurses, attendants, and guards.’
Hauntings at the House of Hospital Woods
In Mark Nesbitt’s “Ghosts of Gettysburg IV,” an entire chapter is dedicated to a home across the road from Hospital Woods, notorious for its poltergeist activity. The haunting began with seemingly benevolent incidents while the homeowner, a recent widow, was away. Upon returning, she noticed that a throw pillow on her sofa was out of place and a book had been moved to the edge of a side table.
The activity escalated when lights in her foyer turned on by themselves, shutters on basement windows opened and closed, and scuffs appeared on the guest bedroom door. One day, while on the phone, she heard the basement door closing, only to find it wide open upon investigation.
Her electronic equipment began malfunctioning, with audiotapes playing and rewinding themselves in the middle of the night. Three nail holes were inexplicably dug out of the same side table where the book had moved. Heavy furniture, which required the strength of several men to shift, was found moved.
Some believe that the poltergeist activity, including the moving of heavy furniture, is caused by powerful and angry spirits. These could be ghostly Confederate soldiers seeking vengeance in Yankee territory, still bitter over their treatment during the war.
Haunted Gettysburg
The tales of Hospital Woods and the poltergeist activity in nearby homes underscore the enduring impact of the Civil War on Gettysburg, where the past refuses to stay buried and the ghosts of history linger on.
Check out our blog for more haunted tales of Gettysburg, and to see some of these locations in person, book a ghost tour with Civil War Ghosts!
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Sources:
https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=13265
