Gettysburg Investigation July 3, 2003

Location: Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, PA.

Date: Thursday night, July 3, 2003 - 4:00pm to 9:30pm

Moon Phase: Just past new moon

Solar Weather: solar flares normal, geomagnetic field unsettled

Investigators present: Hillary M., Paul M., Jamie M. from Gettysburg Ghosts

Equipment: Olympus C-3000 digital camera, Extech EMF meter, Olympus D-370 digital camera, Olympus 2000 Digital Voice Recorder

History: The Battle of Gettysburg took place here. It was fought from July 1 through July 3, 1863, marked a turning point in the American Civil War in the North's favor. Roughly 4,000 Southerners and more than 3,000 Northerners were killed in the battle. The total number of casualties-those killed, wounded, missing, or captured-was about 23,000 for the North and from 25,000 to 28,000 for the South. More detailed history can easily be found on the web.

The members of PRSNA had often wondered if the activity on the Gettysburg battlefield increased during the anniversary of the battle. Since PA got so much rain this year, the reenactments were postponed till August, making it the perfect time for us investigate, and find out for ourselves.

Investigation: Paul and I arrived at Spangler's Spring around 7:15, and immediately walked back to the 28th Pennsylvania monument in the woods, where we have experienced a great deal of activity in the past. I began recording there at 7:30. I thought I would try something new…so in my best southern drawl (which is, admittedly, pitiful) I asked if any of the soldiers present could assist a Southern Belle. Paul, of course, began laughing, as I snapped off a picture. Sure enough, there was a nice big orb next to the monument! As much as I wanted to stay and see what else I could coax out with my southern drawl, the bugs were absolutely eating us alive, so Paul suggested that we head back up to the road.
Knowing from experience that whatever spirit makes the monument his home tends to follow us out of the woods, I began taking pictures of the path once we reached the road. I then turned around and took a picture of the monument on the road behind me. There, was an orb which looked very much like the orb down at the 28th Pennsylvania monument! Paul took a picture immediately after I did and got a strange mist on the other side of the monument! Unfortunately, the ghosts were not the only things following us…the bugs were too! So we decided to head over to the parking lot where we were supposed to meet Jamie.
At 8:17, Paul, Jamie, her daughter, and I began recording at the stump near the bathrooms at Spangler's Spring…another place that I have found to be quite active. About ten minutes into recording, I got an orb above the stump. Paul immediately took a picture, and also got an orb above the stump, from a different vantage point! A few minutes later, he got an orb above my head. By this time, Spangler's Spring was beginning to get crowded with tourists and screaming children, so we decided to go somewhere less popular.
At 9:05, we arrived a Barlow's Knoll. Paul was the only person to get any decent pictures at this location, but we did get a few strange recordings, which we are still analyzing.
At 9:35, we walked down the road to the Alms cemetery. We didn't get many anomalous pictures at this location either, but 8 minutes and 35 seconds into the recording, we all heard a horse huff and snort. We all agreed that it came from the same spot, about 20 yards away, on the other side of the fence, but this noise did not show up on our recording. Jamie stated that her brother heard a horse snort on a previously investigation, near the same area. We are still analyzing some strange recordings that we obtained during this EVP session. We left the park just before 10 p.m.

Conclusion: We visited the park on this date, hoping that the anniversary of the battle would yield more activity than usual. We have to conclude, however, that the battlefield is no more active July 1-4 than it is any other dates. Actually, we have generally had better luck on the battlefield in the middle of winter.

Submitted by Hillary Murdoch