The Maryland town devastated by the bloodiest day of the Civil War—the Battle of Antietam—is now home to its ghostly victims.
In September 1862, fighting from the Battle of Antietam spilled into Sharpsburg’s streets. Residents were left to bury the dead from both sides. Today, locals report lingering echoes of that strife, from the faint taps of a Union drummer boy named Charley King to the phantom footsteps of Confederate soldiers charging up the stairs of the Rohrbach House. Two spectral girls seen playing by the Big Spring in Children’s Alley may be Savilla Miller and Theresa Kretzer, best friends torn apart by their divided loyalties. Tour guides Mark P. Brugh and Julia Stinson Brugh craft a vivid portrait of Sharpsburg in the Civil War and bring to light stories of the ghosts for whom the conflict never ended.
Includes photos!
“Folklore, social history, and a haunted village . . . Provides brief discussions of the historic architecture and ironwork of the village and sketches of the effects of battle upon the civilian population . . . Overall, the authors have set the folklore of hauntings with the context of a major historical event.” —Civil War Librarian
