Jacob Hummelbaugh Farm House - Gettysburg, PA
N 39° 48.474 W 077° 13.891
18S E 308976 N 4408818
The Hummelbaugh House was used as a Union field hospital where CSA Brigadier General William Barksdale died. It seems he is still hanging around the house scaring up the place with his dog.
Waymark Code: WMGT2D
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 04/06/2013
Views: 5
Stories say the cries of Confederate Brigadier General William Barksdale can still be heard on certain nights. Barksdale was wounded while leading a charge on Seminary Ridge and was brought to the Hummelbaugh House. According to an officer from the 148th Pennsylvania Volunteers, Barksdale was last seen lying in front of the house and a young boy was giving him water with a spoon. The General continued to call for water, as though the boy did not exist.... calling over and over again. In the years since, the legends say the sound of Barksdale’s voice can still be heard.
And that is not the only story connected to the house, or to Brigadier General Barksdale either. The other story is connected to the days after the battle, when Barksdale’s wife journeyed to Gettysburg to have her husband’s remains exhumed and returned to their home in Mississippi. She was accompanied on her trip by the General’s favorite hunting dog. As the old dog was led to his master’s grave, he fell down onto the ground and began to howl. No matter what Mrs. Barksdale did, she was unable to pull the animal away.
All through the night, the faithful dog watched over the grave. The next day, Mrs. Barksdale again tried to lure the dog away, but he refused to budge, even though the General’s remains had already been loaded onto a wagon to begin the journey back to Mississippi. Finally, saddened by the dog’s pitiful loyalty, she left for home.
For those who lived nearby, the dog became a familiar fixture during the days that followed. He would occasionally let out a heart-breaking howl that could be heard for some distance. Many locals came and tried to lead the dog away, offering him food, water and a good home. The dog refused all of their gestures and eventually, died from hunger and thirst, still stretched out over his master’s burial place.
Within a few years, a tale began to circulate that the animal’s spirit still lingered at the Hummelbaugh Farm. It has been said that on the night of July 2, the anniversary of Barksdale’s death, an unearthly howl echoes into the night.... as the faithful hunting dog still grieves from a place beyond this world. SOURCE