The Mystery of the Horse and Wagon at Antietam
Nestled in the hills and valleys of Washington County, Maryland is small picturesque town called Sharpsburg. This historical town was the site of the bloodiest day of the Civil War, the Battle of Antietam. On this day; September 17, 1862; 22,717 were counted dead, wounded or missing. Walking through the fields and monuments of the Antietam National Battlefield today, you can't help but feel the sadness and pain that etched the landscape so many years ago even while admiring the peace and beauty that now envelopes the ghosts of all who fought on that battlefield.
I enjoy walking and photographing the beauty of the battlefield, especially Burnside's Bridge which is just south of the visitors center. I will admit I am not much of a Civil War buff so I could never take anyone on a tour of the battlefield with any success of imparting detailed information about the advancements of Union or Confederate troops, but I enjoy it just the same. My interest in the battlefield took an interesting turn when I was approached by a law enforcement official regarding the entrance to the battlefield.
On Route 65 also known as Sharpsburg Pike heading South there is a bit of a curve before you reach Dunker Church Road on the left. This area has been known for its accidents and the high speed of passersby. I personally do not have the dates for the accidents mentioned in this blog and I do not profess to have the detailed information regarding these accidents, however what I do have is information given to me by someone who is well regarded as a law enforcement official.
On two occasions accidents have occurred in the area of Dunker Church Road and Sharpsburg Pike. both times there was major injury to the individuals involved and the second accident there were fatalities. While the accidents are a concern, the information provided by the individuals involved was especially interesting. None of these individuals had contact with each other prior to the accidents. They didn't have a chance to line up their witness accounts or create a detailed story that to most would seem crazy or fantastical. These two accidents that occurred a year apart had 2-3 cars involved. All individuals involved gave witness accounts to law enforcement immediately following the accidents. Each individuals reports were the same, they saw a horse and wagon cross the road in front of them and they swerved to miss it. The horse and wagon however disappeared as quickly as it appeared, leaving those who saw it shocked and doubtful of their memory. Did they really see such a thing? While I would say that one account of an individual seeing something may be cause for doubt, two accidents with all witness accounts lining up to what was seen and where... This is cause for some research.
Over the years I have scouted the web for information regarding the mysterious horse and wagon but found nothing very interesting. Even before typing this up I found nothing but a local farm that does tours with a horse drawn wagon through the battlefield. No where it seems has anyone discussed a ghostly horse and wagon seen in this area. I imagine there were quite a few of these wagons passing back and forth across these very same fields during the troop occupation and battle. But was it really a wagon from that time period? I definitely feel that as a paranormal investigator we can fixate on certain eras simply because of how big of an influence it was on history. Was this a soldier carting food, ammunition, or something else? Or was it something different?
One piece of information I found that was interesting only takes up a small portion of a historical write up about the homesteads found at Antietam. There is reference to a "Waggon Road". Waggon Road was a migration trail utilized by settlers in the 1700s. Could this wagon have been a settler passing through?
I am not much for conjecture so I leave the imagination of what could be to you my readers. I would be fascinated to learn more about each of these topics so I may dive into another blog about this in the future. If you have any information or history that could support these witness accounts email me at AntietamParanormal@gmail.com. Who knows someday we could possibly have an answer to this mystery.
Rebecca Boyer
Co-Founder
Antietam Paranormal Society
I enjoy walking and photographing the beauty of the battlefield, especially Burnside's Bridge which is just south of the visitors center. I will admit I am not much of a Civil War buff so I could never take anyone on a tour of the battlefield with any success of imparting detailed information about the advancements of Union or Confederate troops, but I enjoy it just the same. My interest in the battlefield took an interesting turn when I was approached by a law enforcement official regarding the entrance to the battlefield.
On Route 65 also known as Sharpsburg Pike heading South there is a bit of a curve before you reach Dunker Church Road on the left. This area has been known for its accidents and the high speed of passersby. I personally do not have the dates for the accidents mentioned in this blog and I do not profess to have the detailed information regarding these accidents, however what I do have is information given to me by someone who is well regarded as a law enforcement official.
On two occasions accidents have occurred in the area of Dunker Church Road and Sharpsburg Pike. both times there was major injury to the individuals involved and the second accident there were fatalities. While the accidents are a concern, the information provided by the individuals involved was especially interesting. None of these individuals had contact with each other prior to the accidents. They didn't have a chance to line up their witness accounts or create a detailed story that to most would seem crazy or fantastical. These two accidents that occurred a year apart had 2-3 cars involved. All individuals involved gave witness accounts to law enforcement immediately following the accidents. Each individuals reports were the same, they saw a horse and wagon cross the road in front of them and they swerved to miss it. The horse and wagon however disappeared as quickly as it appeared, leaving those who saw it shocked and doubtful of their memory. Did they really see such a thing? While I would say that one account of an individual seeing something may be cause for doubt, two accidents with all witness accounts lining up to what was seen and where... This is cause for some research.
Over the years I have scouted the web for information regarding the mysterious horse and wagon but found nothing very interesting. Even before typing this up I found nothing but a local farm that does tours with a horse drawn wagon through the battlefield. No where it seems has anyone discussed a ghostly horse and wagon seen in this area. I imagine there were quite a few of these wagons passing back and forth across these very same fields during the troop occupation and battle. But was it really a wagon from that time period? I definitely feel that as a paranormal investigator we can fixate on certain eras simply because of how big of an influence it was on history. Was this a soldier carting food, ammunition, or something else? Or was it something different?
One piece of information I found that was interesting only takes up a small portion of a historical write up about the homesteads found at Antietam. There is reference to a "Waggon Road". Waggon Road was a migration trail utilized by settlers in the 1700s. Could this wagon have been a settler passing through?
I am not much for conjecture so I leave the imagination of what could be to you my readers. I would be fascinated to learn more about each of these topics so I may dive into another blog about this in the future. If you have any information or history that could support these witness accounts email me at AntietamParanormal@gmail.com. Who knows someday we could possibly have an answer to this mystery.
Rebecca Boyer
Co-Founder
Antietam Paranormal Society
You guys are the bomb with all the information that you provide about investigating, the paranormal, and history in general. This article was very interesting and I enjoyed it. Maybe I will head up and do some investigating. I am just a novice intuitive empath that likes connecting with Spirit.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! Antietam is a beautiful place and Sharpsburg is a quaint little town. A lot of people enjoy doing sessions around the battlefield from time to time. Enjoy!
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