One of the most interesting locations that I ever investigated was a spot outside of Gettysburg, PA called Sach’s Bridge. The bridge is a historically significant bridge located in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (about a few miles outside the town lines). Built in 1817, the bridge was the site of a pivotal Civil War battle during the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. The bridge spans the length of the nearby Marsh Creek and is the only remaining covered bridge in Adams County.
The bridge is also the site of several local legends and lore. One legend tells of a Union soldier who jumped into the creek to escape Confederate forces. He was reunited with his family after the war, who were living close by. Another legend tells of a Confederate soldier, who was killed while crossing the bridge during the Battle of Gettysburg. His ghost is said to haunt the bridge and frequently appears to those who cross it. Others claim that if you lean close to the bridge, you can hear the screams of those who perished. Many have reported seeing mysterious lights and hearing odd noises emanating from the bridge. Others have reported seeing apparitions of soldiers and horses.
Our team went there at least a dozen times before and during my stint living in Gettysburg. The first time though was the most interesting! Courtney, Hildred, and I went to Gettysburg on a road trip on December 4th, 1999. We drove into the parking area of the bridge and got out to get our equipment together. At that time, there was nobody on the bridge, we were the only ones there. It was a Saturday, and exciting because we had free rein in the area.
It was dusk, and we walked across the bridge to set up equipment on the other side. We set up some motion sensors, an emf meter, and a large cassette recorder to conduct EVP work. I also had an Olympus digital camera and was taking pictures all around. An hour into the investigation, nothing was really happening. Then a convoy of three cars came down the drive. The bridge is not on the main road, it is “off the beaten path.” At this point, we decided to start wrapping up with all these people coming.
As we were packing, there was a large group of college kids coming across the bridge, probably about a dozen, half believers, half skeptics, laughing and chuckling at what we were doing. So, we started striking up a conversation and migrated back across the bridge to the front opening of the bridge. These were college students from Pittsburgh out for the weekend. They were a good group of kids, and most of them in for the thrills of the evening. Well after the conversation started heating up, one of the students calls out “what the hell is that?”
We all look, and he is pointing across the bridge where we had just come from. Low and behold there were two soldiers standing in the low lit moonlight.
I yelled out “good evening!”
The soldiers started walking into the center of the bridge, only 10-15 yards from the “at aww” group. The soldiers then became semitransparent, but we could still see one was in a Confederate uniform, and the other in a Union uniform. I asked, “can I take your picture?”
I took a shot and there was what we called “pixie dust” in the flash, which was, what we believed to be static electric discharge in the air, caught in the light of the flash. Well, this time it was in the form of a human. I was giddy as a schoolboy, and soon was surrounded by everyone while still drop jawed.
I said, “look into my camera’s LCD and you will see what we call orbs, which are spherical balls of energy." I turned on the LCD and boom, this is what came up!
The group was all looking at each other, some in fright, some in curiosity. I then asked the soldiers to come closer, and they did, but as they did, they became transparent and looked as if they were the Predator in the movie “Predator.” As of this point, the soldiers were about 5-10 feet from all of us. I said, “can I take your picture again?” Lifted my camera and yelled “flash!” while taking the picture. The one soldier lights up like a pixie dust “beehive” in the form of a human torso!
This is what I received.
I said the same thing to the group, but by the time I turned around to show them, half were already running to the car, and half were moseying over and saying their goodbyes in disbelief as to what they saw. It was such an incredible event. I thanked the soldiers and went to the car to head out.
We returned to Sach’s several times after that, which may be included in further case files, but that first time, was a doozy!