Published by Haunted America
A Division of The History Press
Charleston, SC 29403
www.historypress.net
Copyright 2013 by Dale P. Langella
All rights reserved
Cover image by Noah Bourdeu.
First published 2013
e-book edition 2013
ISBN 978.1.61423.988.8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Langella, Dale.
Haunted Alabama battlefields / Dale Langella.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
print edition ISBN 978-1-60949-916-7 (paperback)
1. Ghosts--Alabama--Anecdotes. 2. Haunted places--Alabama--Anecdotes. 3. Battlefields--Alabama--Anecdotes. 4. Parapsychology--Alabama--Anecdotes. 5. Alabama--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Battlefields--Anecdotes. 6. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Battlefields--Anecdotes. 7. Alabama--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns--Anecdotes. 8. United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Campaigns--Anecdotes. 9. Alabama--Social life and customs--Anecdotes. 10. Alabama--Biography--Anecdotes. I. Title.
BF1472.U6L3645 2013
133.122--dc23
2013039036
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
I dedicate this book to my two children, Cameron and Caitlyn, as well as to my beloved sister, Linda Laliberte Lussier, who passed away during the writing of this book. She was only fifty-two years old. She fought a very hard, five-year battle against ovarian cancer, which metastasized to brain, lung and liver cancer as well. Linda endured things that I could never even dream of, but regardless of her sickness and afflictions, she always remained very happy and high-spirited. She was a proud supporter of my lifes work within the paranormal field and always encouraged me to continue with my work and passion. Her passing was a very difficult time in my life. She meant the world to me, and she will be missed dearly. For all her support and belief in me, I dedicate this book to her so that her legacy of love, her kindness and the support that she gave me in her lifetime will live on forever. Life is truly a gift that should always be cherished.
PREFACE
Saywhether peace is best preserved by giving energy to the government or information to the people. This last is the most certain and the most legitimate engine of government. Educate and inform the whole mass of people. Enable them to see that it is their interest to preserve peace and order, and they will preserve them. And it requires no very high degree of education to convince them of this. They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.
Thomas Jefferson
As I read that profound statement from probably one of the most influential persons in history, I thought about the irony regarding what I had just learned in the making of this book. Everyone wants freedom; we will fight for freedom, and we will die for our freedom. We learn lessons from our wrongdoings or through the mistakes of our history. We strive to make things better for one another, and some people even reason that this is the reason our history is so important. They argue that we should never make the same mistakes twice and should take those lessons that we have learned and use them to improve our lives and the lives of others around us. Supposing that we were lucky enough to have had children to whom we can hand our freedoms, we know that these future generations will eventually be in command of our governments. With that thought in mind, this book was written with the intent of sharing the history and stories of the folks in Alabama, their families, their ancestors and the remaining unheard ghosts that seem to be trying to communicate that we have seen days that we should never see again. They beg us to tell the stories of the atrocities committed and to never again allow this to take place on our soil.
As I walked around the encampment at the Bridgeport Reenactment and began to watch the maneuvers portrayed in the battle, Glenn Hill, a reenactor and curator for the Bridgeport Museum, approached me because he knew that I was doing research for this book. He was dressed in Civil War attire because he was portraying a soldier, and you could see his passion for what he was doing. I was literally halted in my tracks as he pulled me aside and spoke the most profound statement to me. He asked, What was the most important battle in the Civil War? Well, being caught off guard, I was honestly perplexed, so I thought for a moment and answered, Well, I guess that would be Gettysburg, right? He said, No, think about this for just one minute. Then there was a brief moment of silence. He looked directly at me, and with complete sincerity radiating from his soul, he continued, The biggest battle for any soldier in any war was the one that he died in. That was his biggest battle.
Stunned at such a thoughtful statement, I looked around at the reenactment and all the folks involved in the remaking of this scene and began to embrace the real meaning of the event. I found myself in a state of contemplation and became choked up after hearing these words. I realized that everyone talks about the Civil War, the horror, the destruction, the sides they chose, the lessons and so forth, but to actually put yourself in their shoes for a brief moment and truly imagine or attempt to feel what it was like to be involved in this terror is a whole new, eye-opening experience. It stirred a certain spirit inside me, enlightening me that I needed to tell these stories to the masses of people, as well as the future generations of children as they grow up and become able to read these stories.
I needed to tell these stories not only from the perspective of history, or from stories of folks who lived well, but also from the side of spirits that seem to want their voices to still be heard. Are they asking for us to avoid division in our nation? Are they saying, Dont ever let this happen again? Are they pleading for no one else to ever have to suffer or die because of war? Do they want justice? Are they still searching for their families? Do they want someone, anyone, to know where they have died and where they are buried? Were they ever honored for their service? Were they ever even acknowledged for the loss of their lives? There are so many questions that still remained unanswered.
I have always considered myself an extreme supporter of our military troops, our country and our Constitution, but many of the stories that I came across in the process of making this book left me with one thought in my head: the death, violence, wounds, destruction, agony, cruelty and fighting are never as important as peace. Nevertheless, the reality is that these tragic wars happened, and they brought about extreme pain, grief, wounded soldiers, death, agony, desperation, annihilation, devastation, division among families and friends, tragedy and some of the most gruesome and cruel manifestations of human behavior and accounts ever recorded in history.
