It seems to me that there was a good possibility, with the several thousands of Blue and Grey roamaging the forests during the Civil war, in both the South, Southeast, and places like Ohio I wonder if there were any encounters with BF by any soldiers?

Hmm, now they probably ran when they heard the guns. I am a Civil War reenactor with the 49th New York Company D Canadian Division stationed in Toronto. During Gettysburg, Wilderness, and Antietem reenactments I have had no experiences with anything that might be the result of a BF. In Gettysburg they always out the Blue camp way in the back bush about three miles from everything, but I have seen nothing. Now at Mumford, New York re-enactment I usually sleep in the car about six miles north of the town about forty miles south-west of Rochester. Maybe there is a BF roaming around there? Though, I am pretty sure they would be scared off by all the reenactors and loud noises. I will be alert for this seasons reenactments incase of some BF activity.

Ha, funny.

What I meant was there many troops that prolly camped outdoors and in the wilderness. They weren't always fighting.

I'm a CW history buff, but I have never heard of any BF sightings in that era by soldiers. Lot's of ghost stories involving battlefields and reenactments, but no BF stories.

i used to reenact civil war.

spent plenty nites shivering under a gum blanket.

ive never read any account of encounters during th civil war.

armys, for th most part, stayed close to roads for logistic and mobility reasons.

by the 1860's id hazard a guess that any hairy critters had done faded further back into the brush. was still plenty of virgin timberlands in th east then.

who knows?

at chattanooga the fifth texas infantry was completely run out of camp in terror one nite. wasnt a bigfoot.

seems the pack mule carrying the cookware went berzerk and th sounds spooked everybody so badly they all hit th brush.

Yes, I would agree with what was said so far. The armies really weren't into the stealth thing--and when you figure that in a major battle the numbers of soldiers and support people (teamsters, medics, suttlers and the like) could number in the hundreds of thousands tramping through the countryside, I don't think BF would have been around very long.
Probably the wildest area that witnessed major combat was the Wilderness campaign in 1864--and no stories of BF that I've heard.
BTW--the combat did affect wildlife. Jackson's famous flanking manouver at Chancellorsville was almost given away by dozens of spooked deer; alas, no fleeing Sasquatch sighted. Besides, given the primitive nature of photography, chances of a good phot were slim anyway . . . .

Intriguing thought, though!

I dunno...
I think the 1860's photos would match or better any blobs I've seen posted here!

On one of the BF web-sites, I remember coming across a reference about a large creature being roped by cowboys in the 1800's, Texas style I believe. Your question is one I'm sure alot of us have pondered. It truly stands to reason, unless the "foot" population, for what ever reason, was even less than it is now. It sounds like some folks start shooting as soon as they step out of their automobiles, upon arriving at the re-enactment grounds. If you haven't yet, you may wish to check out Theodore Rooselvelt's story, " The Wendigo"; from, "The Wilderness Hunter". Least we forget, how long ago did this being get the moniker Sasquatch.

Found this, and here's something not from the Civil War but is actually pre Civil War report; here.

Mike

Excellent find Mike!

Nice Mike.

Thanks Mike: report is interesting, but am I the only one who finds the photos to be fishy?

It dawned on me awhile ago to not forget the diary of Elkanah Walker which you can read about here and here.


Mike

I know the one photo of the Cav column is fake- the UFO is the old Testors model kit!



-Sarge

I know the pics are more than likely faked, but it a neat article and I thought the mention of the Tennessee soliders encounter before the battle of Ckicamauga was kind of neat.

Hey, we were glad to read them--just the pics were really obvious. And the crop circle in the Wheatfield---now that is just too much!

This photo is obviously faked and not very well. Notice the writing on it B-4667. That is the National Archives accession number. I did a GOOGLE search and found this photo from Charleston, SC taken in 1865 from a location called the circular church. The Greek column in the foreground is part of the church. Notice that in the "UFO" pic, there are some objects flying by. They are not present in the photo found at the National Archives

If you go to the parent directory, the link with the fake pics is listed as "humor".

http://www.dougdobbs.com/

Nice detective work, Hoosier! I thought the scene was Atlanta.

Thanks Samoyedowner! I would have guessed Atlanta or maybe Richmond, VA but it's Charleston. I have been interested in Civil War history since the late 1990's. I see you are from PA, have you ever been to Gettysburg? I would love to visit there and also the town of Sharpsburg, MD (Antietam) in one trip since they're close together.

Yes--I was a high school teacher for 8 years, and my first job was in Hanover, PA: about 12 miles from Gettysburg! Used to mountain bike through the battlefield a lot (and even gave friends and family informal tours). Great place: living there for three years I was over there quite a bit, and seemed to find something new pretty frequently. It's a hard site to exhaust. If you ever go, let me know, I'll be glad to pass on some advice. The museum was awesome in the 90's, and I understand it was updated after I left the area. If they kept the artifacts they used to display, it is a real treat for the CW buff (admission was FREE!!!!)

For my money, though, Antitem is an even better site: simply because it is so well preserved. A much smaller battlefield, but, unlike the college town/tourist mecca of Gettysburg, the place feels much more like a step back 150 years. If I could just visit one field, Gettysburg would be it, but Antitem is hard to pass up. Hope you make it--you won't be disappointed!

Ed

I want to visit little round top.

We're planning trip to Gettysburg and Fredricksburg this summer. Can you see Gettysburg Battlefield in one day, two? We are not quite sure how many days to plan for. What do you think would be a must see while we are there? Any advice would be appreciated.

Gettysburg can be seen in a day, but if you really like the Civil War, give it two. My strong advice would be to avoid the tour buses and that stuff. They used to have a tape player that you could rent and drive to certain stations--not the greatest idea either. One of the best things (I think) is to hire a battlefield guide. These folks take you on a two-hour tour: they even drive your car (or used to!). We did this when I was a teenager; we had a teacher from Baltimore who did this as a summer job. Wonderful intro, and my first Civil War educational experience (as you can see, it stuck . . . .)

Other ideas . . . .well, there are a few bed and breakfasts on the battlefield or close to it--never stayed in them, but think it would be neat. Gettysburg gets much more crowded in the summer (when I lived down there it was in the years after the movie was released, so it was VERY crowded in the summer). The museum is a great place. Must see venues on the field--Devil's Den, Little Round Top (be sure to find the 20th Maine monument), Cemetary Ridge--esp. The Angle. Also the town--at certain spots you can see the bullet holes and even a few embeded artillery projectiles in the house walls!!!!!

I see you are from Florida--lately there has been a trend to recognize Confederate units more. From what I understand, a Longstreet memorial was being planned in the later 90's, and, of course, Virginia and Lee are well represented.

If you are going to see Fredricksburg, give Sharpsburg (Antitem) a thought. Kind of on the way up to Gettysburg, and worth a look. It is easily seen in a long afternoon.

I'm excited for you--hope you have a great trip!

My favorite Little Round Top experience--sitting there in the dark (park closed at about 10) on a summer evening: alone! I was at the 20th Maine monument. Sort of got to thinking about the ghost stories, left after about 10 minutes. Awesome. Also watched the sun set from the area several times. Great. Looking forward to taking my son (he's 2 1/2, so I ahve a while to wait . . . .).

In 2001 we did the 2 hour tour tape that you can buy at the museum... It took 3 days! But heh' we are history bluffs we spent way too long at each spot! The ghost tour was pretty awesome! I would reccomend.

I'm sure its like a lot of places, if you had a month, you wouldn't see everything. I've been to Appomatox several years ago. I highly reccomend it to any serious CW history buff. Now that I know far more about the Confederate retreat from Richmond to Appomatox, I would like to go back and spend more time.

Lookout Mt.- Chattanooga, TN.
How the heck did them Yankees take THAT Position ?

I've been up that mountain to the site! It was a spectacular view below! BTW, are all those houses on the mountain towns? Or is it still part of Chattanooga? Looking at how some of those people mowed their lawns right to the edge of the mountain makes me nervous! Especially those people who had kids in their front lawns! I hate how your ears pop a few times going up the mountain, the locals must be used to it eh!

Gritty guys like Phil Sheridan.

Sorry--Sheridan was more involved with Missionary Ridge. But he was in the Lookout Mountain engagement too (I think).

Thank you. I can't wait to go now.

That's what Grant said in stunned amazement. LOL. The book "Grant Takes Command" by Bruce Catton gives a good account of the Lookout Mtn/Missionary Ridge Campaign. The men at Missionary Ridge were told to advance to a spot on the mountain, they kept charging on their own until they were at the top and defeated Bragg's Confederates. Longstreets Corps from VA had been sent to reinfore Bragg but Longstreets several thousand men had been ordered back to Virginia just a day or two before all of this happened. Oops!

Those troups that took Lookout Mountain in the Battle Above the Clouds, as it was later named, had fought and had been routed at the Battle of Chickamauga two months earlier. They were still pissed off about it and wanted revenge. Its that simple.

I thought I’d save this tidbit for this weekend. I have in my possession a box of letters written to home by my great-great grandfather during the civil war. Most of them are fairly dull reading, but one specific letter talks about a "ghost" sighted in the area. (One of the defensive positions around Washington D.C.). If you read it in the right light, it almost sounds like a nice, vague BF report. It was seen near their stables in the vicinity of some supposedly haunted graves. He never encountered it, though he stood guard there, but several other men had, in fact they were scared witless by it. Basically the other men had seen a figure at night over several nights, variously described as looking like a bear, a man, or a small mule, and heard "a terrible groaning". He/It (the figure) ran off when challenged and was fired on several times with no apparent effect. Or at least it was never hit. Now, nobody mentions a Wildman or a hairy creature of any kind and he/it was seen at what sounds like fairly close range albeit in apparently poor light. However, I’m curious why anyone would associate a bear or mule with a person even if it was a ghost. And if they were just ordinary animals and some looter like my GGGF thought, why the panic reaction? Overactive imagination or…?