Stones River National Battlefield

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a trip to visit my daughter and her family near Atlanta. One of the places we stopped on the way was Stones River National Battlefield in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

This is from their website: “The Battle of Stones River began on the last day of 1862 and became one of the bloodiest conflicts of the Civil War. More than 3,000 men lay dead on the field. Nearly 16,000 more were wounded. Some of these men spent as much as seven agonizing days on the battlefield before help could reach them. The two armies sustained nearly 24,000 casualties, which was almost one-third of the 81,000 men engaged.”

If you want to learn more about this battle, there is a lot of information on their website.

When we drove to the site, I inadvertently drove to McFadden’s Ford, where one of the final battles was held. In this place, Confederate soldiers pushed toward the river to fight the Union soldiers waiting on the other side. As the Confederate soldiers attacked, they came within range of fifty-seven Union cannons massed on the hill overlooking the river. In forty-five minutes, their concentrated fire killed more than 1,800 Confederates. A quote from that day, “The very forest seemed to fall…and not a Confederate reached the river.”

WKRN.com published an article in October 2020 about the spirits that are said to haunt the battlefield. Here is some of what they reported on: “It’s a place for history buffs, but those who fought in one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War are said to still haunt Murfreesboro.

“Thousands of people were killed or lost limbs, got their arms shot off, war is brutal,” said Allen Sircy, the author of “Southern Ghost Stories Murfreesboro: Spirits of Stones River.”

“There’s a lot of homes off Medical Center Parkway that were used as hospitals. They were bulldozed and businesses were built there, so naturally, the people that work there and operate their businesses have weird stories and things that happen to them,” Sircy said.

An employee at a storage facility told Sircy he believes there is a Union soldier on the third floor who’s trying to help him. When he goes upstairs, the lights come on.

Staff members at a convenience store on the busy roadway claim to hear strange things inside of the building since they first opened last year, especially at night.

“She said, ‘Well, I was working late, and I heard somebody calling my name in the cooler,’ and she was the only person in the store,” Sircy said.

Mark Walsh from Rutherford County Paranormal Investigations has had countless interactions with spirits, especially near the slaughter pen.

“We’ve been out there a hundred times, and we’ve heard cannon fire, musket fire, and we’ve seen soldiers walking across the battlefield at night,” Walsh said. “Every time I go out there, I always ask, ‘Do you know who the President is?’ and every time, it says ‘Lincoln.’”

On the Civil War Talk forum, there is a thread devoted entirely to the hauntings at Stones River National Battlefield.  Here are a couple of the responses:

“The ghost of Civil War soldiers killed in a bloody battle here in January 1863 roam the grounds. Strange feelings and shadowy figures are most often encountered by park rangers and visitors at tour stops four and six. One ghost stands behind a clump of bushes, then moves out into plain view, only to fall to the ground and disappear. He is assumed to be a soldier shot while trying to surrender.”

“I was there a couple of years ago. I was in my tent about to go to sleep, I think it was about 11:30 or so, when I heard something rub on my tent flap. I got up, looked around, and saw a man in a Confederate uniform. I thought it was a member of the security in uniform, it was cold and foggy, so I didn’t ask any questions and went back to bed. So, in the morning, I asked one of the staff who the guy was, and he said that none of the security people had been over there. So even today I think it was a ghost.”

One of the most famous ghosts of Stones River is Lt. Col Julius P. Garesche, also known as the Headless Horseman of Stones River. Rutherford History shares the story that was written by Mike West in The Murfreesboro Post in October 2009:  “Does the ghost of a headless horseman still haunt Stones River Battlefield?

Yes, if you believe anonymous witnesses to the sight and postings on the Internet.

The rider in question is said to be the ghost of Lt. Col. Julius P. Garesche, who died near the railroad line just past the current site of Stones River National Cemetery. A sign marks the site where Garesche fell from his mount.

On the afternoon of Dec. 31, 1862, Gen. William S. Rosecrans was riding along Union Army lines near the Round Forest. Accompanying him was his popular but humble chief of staff, Garesche.

Capt. Henry Semple of Semple’s Alabama Battery spotted the officers and told a gunner to fire at them. A round of solid shot missed Rosecrans but struck Garesche, decapitating him. Garesche’s blood and brains covered the commanding general.

Garesche’s horse galloped another 20 yards before his body fell off near the tracks of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad.

After dusk, Garesche’s West Point classmate, Brig. Gen. William S. Hazen searched for his body. Hazen discovered it and recovered his West Point ring and his well-read Catholic devotional, “Imitation of Christ.”

“I chanced to pass the spot where he lay. He was alone, no soldier–dead nor living–near him. I saw but a headless trunk: an eddy of crimson foam had issued where his head should be,” Hazen wrote.

“I at once recognized his figure, it lay so naturally, his right hand across his breast. As I approached, dismounted, and bent over him, the contraction of a muscle extended the hand slowly and slightly towards me,” Hazen said.

His classmate found Garesche’s hand still warm and lifelike.

Hazen took the West Point class ring from Garesche’s finger and his devotional from his pocket.

“There was no time for tears,” the general wrote.

Hazen and a group of volunteers then buried Garesche in a temporary battlefield grave. The rare nighttime burial became fodder for newspaper stories in the Union states.”

Southern Spirit Guide details the current story. “Since those horrific days at Stones River, visitors, locals, and railroad employees have had experiences with what one local ghosthunter described as the ‘thousands of spirits’ residing on the battlefield. Among them is the headless spirit of Julius Garesché astride his horse. According to a longtime park employee, “Garesché is the ‘star’ among all our reported sightings. We have a dramatic increase in tourists and inquiries each year as Halloween approaches.”

According to Allen Sircy’s 2020 Southern Ghost Stories: Murfreesboro: Spirits of Stones River, the stories of the headless horseman have become legendary in the area. He notes that some witnesses have heard the hoofbeats of a horse only to see the spirit nearby. Others have reported seeing a headless soldier pacing near the Round Forest or the National Cemetery located on the battlefield. Perhaps Garesché sometimes returns without his mount?”

When we parked in the small parking area at McFadden’s Ford, I wasn’t aware of what had happened on this spot. But I can tell you that I felt the sorrow of the land. This was not just another National Park with a bubbling river and greenery. This was a sacred place. There were no other visitors at the time, so I was able to walk down to the river in silence and feel the solemnity of the space. There are definitely spirits who still walk that troubled land, still looking for peace, and I pray that someday they find it.

Happy Friday!