Halloween Tales-Part 2- Ghost of Antietam

Located on the far western edge of central Maryland is the Antietam Battlefield, which lies outside of the small, historic town of Sharpsburg. The battle of Antietam took place in September of 1862 and marked the first of 2 attempts by Confederate General Robert E. Lee to take the Civil War onto northern soil. The battle became known as the bloodiest single day of the entire war with combined casualties of 23,100 wounded, missing and dead.

BLOODY LANE
The morning battle at Antietam shifted directions several times and eventually became centered in the middle of Lee's line, a country road that divided the property of two local farmers. Now, it served as a rifle pit for 2 Confederate brigades.
The road was ordered held at all costs. The Federals tried numerous times to overrun the road, unit after unit falling back under the rain of fire from the Confederate position. Finally, a vantage point was reached where the Union troops could fire down upon the road's defenders. It became like shooting animals in a slaughter pen and "Bloody Lane" soon filled with bodies, stacked four and five feet deep.

The slaughter at Bloody Lane became one of the most memorable and tragic events of the battle, thanks to the participation of the 69th of New York, soldiers known as the "Irish Brigade". The Union troops attacking the road were in serious trouble when they saw the emerald banner of the Irish Brigade appear on the horizon. The Irish announced their arrival with the sounds of drums and volleys of fire as they attacked the Confederate position. The Brigade screamed loudly and shouted a battle cry that sounded like "Fah-ah-bah-lah", which is Gaelic for "Clear the Way!" and is spelled Faugh-a-Balaugh.
Over the years, Bloody Lane has become known as one of the most eerie places on the battlefield. Strange events have taken place here which lead many to believe that events of the past are still being replayed today. Reports over the years tell of the sounds of phantom gunfire echoing along the sunken road and the smell of smoke and gunpowder which seems to come from nowhere.
But perhaps the most famous story involves a group of boys from the McDonough school in Owings Mills, Maryland, They toured the battlefield and ended the day at Bloody Lane. The boys were allowed to wander about and think about what they had learned that day. They were asked to record their impressions for a history assignment and some wrote brief remarks and poems.... but the comments that got the most attention from the teacher were from the boys who described hearing shouts that came from Bloody Lane. Some of them said that it sounded like a chant and others described the sounds as someone singing a Christmas song... like "Deck the Halls".
Most specifically, they described the words as sounded like the part of the song that goes "Fa-la-la-la-la". The singing came strongly and then faded away.
But what if the singing had not been a Christmas song at all.... but the sounds of the Irish Brigade "clearing the way"?
Faugh-a-Balaugh.......

BURNSIDE BRIDGEThose who have spent time at the area known as Burnside Bridge on the battlefield, especially those park rangers and Civil War reenactors who have been there at night, say that there are strange things going on there.
Historians and experts report that the fighting which took place here in 1862 left a number of fallen soldiers behind and many of them were hastily buried in unknown locations near the bridge. Could their restless souls be haunting the area?
Visitors to the area at night have reported visions of blue balls of light moving about in the darkness and the sound of a phantom drum that beats out a cadence and then fades away

Do ghosts still walk at Antietam Battlefield? You have to be the judge of that for yourself, but nevertheless, there are many questions in this place which will probably always remain unanswered.