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00:00A cannon fires supernatural beings haunting blood-stained battlefields mysterious spies
00:09infiltrating the inner sanctum of power and treasure hunters seeking a legendary fortune
00:18in gold William Shatner from 1861 to 1865 the United States of America found itself in a
00:27deadly conflict a four-year struggle that forged heroes freed millions and would forever be known
00:35as the Civil War while history often focuses on the polarizing politics and the bloody battles of
00:45this tumultuous era there are so many fascinating and shocking stories to be found of the people and
00:52places that played a role in the war between the states from rumors of lost treasure haunted
01:02battlefields to mysterious premonitions and secret societies could these intriguing tales shed new
01:12light on America's darkest days well that is what we're trying to find out a sliver of light peeks
01:21through a blanket of fog as a title fades in the unexplained with William Shatner
01:30a US flag waves atop a sea fort Fort Sumter South Carolina this historic landmark was built in 1829
01:40to protect Charleston Harbor against naval attacks every year hundreds of thousands of people visit
01:48this old sea fort to walk in the footsteps of some truly remarkable American history because on April 12th
01:561861 it was here that the first shots were fired during the American Civil War Edna Green Medford PhD the Civil War is
02:08perhaps the most important thing that ever happened in the history of this country it's often referred to
02:16as the American Civil War as the Brothers War not just because you had Americans from the south fighting Americans from the north but within families there was division
02:29you had sons growing up in the same household with the same parents and one takes the side of the north and the other takes the side of the south
02:37there were between two and three million men who were serving the expectation was that it would only be for a few months but the war actually lasted from April 1861 to April 1865
02:531865 during the conflict the Confederate States of America attempted to dominate the United States military on the field of battle by the time that the war ends in 1865 over 600,000 Americans have lost their lives as a result of combat during the American Civil War that is a total number that is greater than any other conflict we have ever fought so more Americans die fighting the American Civil War
03:21than die fighting the Second World War we should be comforted by the idea that we're so far away from this conflict and that nothing to equal the terror of the American Civil War has happened to the American people since
03:34Martin Morgan the Civil War saw over 10,000 battles and military engagements fought in 19 states between the Union Army of the North and the Confederate Army of the South
03:48and today the most visited of these former battlegrounds is in rural Pennsylvania at the site of the conflict's bloodiest battle
03:57soldiers fire muskets 1863 for the first three days of July intense fighting would leave 51,000 Americans wounded captured missing or killed at the Battle of Gettysburg
04:13Don Allison the battlefield here at Gettysburg looks very much like it did in 1863
04:22trees dot a brown hill here we are on the face of Little Round Top this was a scene of mass confusion the ridge in the distance is seminary ridge the attacking confederates came across these rocks
04:38This was bloody, hand-to-hand fighting, Confederates coming up the cliff.
04:45It was just an amazing scene of bullets, cannonballs, exploding shells.
04:54The horror here was astounding.
04:58In a photo, bodies litter the ground.
05:01My great-great-grandfather was in the extreme right flank of the Confederate attack here,
05:06and he had served through the war.
05:10The fact that I have stood here where my ancestors fought and seen the battle in my mind's eye,
05:17that was indescribable to me.
05:21It's really a part of who I am spiritually.
05:24Headstones for Neat Rose.
05:26Gettysburg is not only a place of spiritual reflection,
05:30but for many it's also a place filled with restless spirits.
05:33And many have wondered,
05:37is Gettysburg haunted by the tens of thousands of soldiers that died here?
05:43This is definitely not only hallowed ground, but haunted ground.
05:48A bright figure appears.
05:50People actually see spectral soldiers.
05:54They hear musket fire.
05:57They hear phantom artillery fire to this day.
06:00There are so many accounts by so many people of their experiences here
06:08that it simply cannot be discounted.
06:10I was a park ranger at Gettysburg for six years in the 70s.
06:17Having studied this for 40, 50 years,
06:19I would have to say, without a doubt,
06:21Gettysburg is one of the most haunted places probably in the world.
06:24What happened in Gettysburg stayed in Gettysburg.
06:29The ghosts of the soldiers who died, they're here.
06:33And most everybody feels it in one way or another.
06:37Mark Nesbitt passes between the boulders.
06:40According to Mark Nesbitt,
06:41the highest concentration of otherworldly reports
06:44come from an area on the battlefield that is called Devil's Den.
06:49Right now we're in Devil's Den,
06:52one of the more recognizable places on the battlefield of Gettysburg.
06:56The fighting here gradually grew into some of the most savage fighting
07:00of the battle, and hence of the American Civil War.
07:05From 4 p.m. on July 2nd to 4 p.m. on July 3rd, 1863,
07:11at Gettysburg was the bloodiest 24 hours in American history.
07:18These granite boulders formed tunnels and passageways
07:24through these great rocks in Devil's Den.
07:27Soldiers had to fight through these.
07:30This area is very much like a maze.
07:32There are great cracks in these boulders.
07:37Wounded men fell into them.
07:39And then after the battle, when the burials were going on,
07:43there's no place to dig a grave.
07:46So, sadly, a number of these men were just tossed
07:49into these crevices between the giant rocks.
07:53And so it's no surprise
07:54that this is one of the most haunted spots in America.
07:59Boulders' life piled against each other.
08:02Perhaps the most frightening story I ever heard about Gettysburg
08:05took place here in Devil's Den.
08:06Two women were up on these rocks.
08:10And they were hopping across one of these cracks.
08:14And one woman stepped over,
08:16and all of a sudden, her leg got caught.
08:19And she looked down, and there was a hand
08:22that had come up and grabbed her leg.
08:25And she screamed and pulled away.
08:29And when they went over to look down in the crevice,
08:33no one was there.
08:35Why is there such a high concentration
08:37of haunting reports at Devil's Den?
08:41Some believe it could trace back
08:43to the most chilling photograph ever taken at Gettysburg.
08:46Jeff Bellinger.
08:47The home of the rebel sharpshooter photograph
08:50was taken at Devil's Den.
08:53It's one of the most famous photos
08:55from the whole of the Civil War.
08:57You see this dead body, and you see a rifle.
09:00And it is a powerful, powerful photo.
09:02It's also staged.
09:05The photographer, Alexander Gardner,
09:07moved the body.
09:08He'd positioned the head
09:08so the face was a little bit more toward the camera.
09:10He had set the rifle in a certain place
09:12because he was trying to tell a story.
09:15That fallen sharpshooter haunts Gettysburg.
09:19I can't recall any other time
09:21when soldiers were actually posed.
09:26Here's a young man, obviously young, killed.
09:30They're desecrating his memory.
09:34So if there is a perturbed spirit
09:36at Devil's Den, no doubt,
09:39it's this young man
09:41who was dragged back and forth
09:45and posed just to make a photographer some money.
09:50Could the desecration of this unidentified soldier
09:53be connected to paranormal activity
09:56reported in Gettysburg?
09:59It's an intriguing thought.
10:02But there are other Civil War mysteries
10:05that may be much easier to unravel.
10:07Like the legends of lost gold
10:10just waiting to be found.
10:14Gold Coins Glimmer
10:15Loudoun County, Virginia.
10:22Treasure hunter Brian Cerniglia
10:24scours farms, fields,
10:26and former battlegrounds
10:28of the American Civil War
10:29searching for lost pieces
10:31of 19th century history.
10:33Here we have a six-pound cannonball.
10:37Brian and others have managed to find
10:39all kinds of historic Civil War artifacts
10:41from simple buttons and buckles
10:44to objects of remarkable value.
10:47Brian Cerniglia.
10:49I've been hunting for Civil War relics
10:51almost my entire life.
10:53The passion for history
10:55and the search for the unknown
10:57constantly drives me
10:59to pick up a metal detector
11:00and get out and explore.
11:02We stumbled across quite a bit of relics
11:05from the Civil War era.
11:07Of course, the favorite of everybody
11:09is the coins.
11:11So here's just a small example
11:13of all the different types of coins
11:15that can be found
11:17when you're out treasure hunting
11:18for Civil War relics.
11:21And this coin is actually made out of silver.
11:24Large coins like this
11:25were how the soldiers got paid.
11:27This could have been in the pocket
11:29of a Civil War soldier.
11:30He scans a field.
11:32The prospect of finding a stash
11:34of Civil War coins
11:35is every treasure hunter's dream.
11:38Ah, just how much silver and gold
11:40might still be out there
11:41waiting to be found.
11:43Lance Geiger.
11:44There are real mysteries
11:46of Civil War treasure
11:47because we know quite a lot
11:48of gold and silver
11:49was used during the war.
11:51Quite a lot of payrolls
11:53were going out during the Civil War.
11:54and a lot of it went missing.
11:58A great example of that
12:00at the end of the Civil War
12:02is when it's clear
12:03that the Union is coming to Richmond.
12:05It was really the end for the South.
12:08The Confederate government
12:09leaves Richmond
12:10and they call it Evacuation Day.
12:13Confederate President Jefferson Davis
12:14left Richmond with a train
12:16that had the entirety
12:18of what was remaining
12:19of the Confederate treasury.
12:21Millions in gold and silver.
12:22And six weeks later
12:25when he's captured
12:25he's got essentially
12:27a few dollars in his pocket.
12:29And in between
12:29we don't know what happened
12:30to all that money.
12:32And that's not the only case
12:34during the entire
12:35American Civil War
12:36where large dollar amounts
12:37went missing.
12:39We don't know
12:39where that money went.
12:41The tales of missing fortunes
12:43have motivated
12:44many history salutes
12:45to try and piece clues together
12:48to find lost loot.
12:50One of the most
12:52sought after
12:53hidden fortunes
12:54is said to have belonged
12:55to a Confederate colonel
12:56named John Singleton Mosby
12:58also known as
13:00the Gray Ghost.
13:03John Singleton Mosby
13:05is a really interesting character
13:07in the war.
13:07He's with the 43rd Virginia Cavalry.
13:10But his unit
13:11which comes to be called
13:12Mosby's Rangers
13:13their speciality
13:14was to
13:15just pop up
13:16you know
13:1710 miles behind the lines
13:18where no one was expecting it.
13:20They'd grab sentries
13:21or they would steal things
13:22and so he almost
13:24becomes like a boogeyman.
13:26John Mosby
13:27he was known
13:28as the Gray Ghost
13:29because the ghost
13:30would appear
13:31and the ghost
13:31would vanish.
13:33He would strike
13:35railroad lines
13:36that were carrying
13:36supplies to the army.
13:38He would attack
13:39messengers and couriers
13:41so that communication
13:42would be broken up.
13:43and then if they
13:44needed to hide
13:45Mosby's men
13:47would disappear
13:48in that part of Virginia
13:49to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
13:52Once you were in the mountain
13:53the enemy was not going
13:54to follow you there.
13:56Mosby was also rumored
13:58to have cleverly made
13:59a stash of gold, silver
14:00and jewels disappear
14:01from a federal building
14:03in Fairfax, Virginia.
14:05It is sad
14:08that on March 9th, 1863
14:11the Gray Ghost
14:13snuck behind enemy lines
14:14and robbed
14:16the Fairfax courthouse
14:17making off
14:19of the fortune
14:20that if found today
14:21would be worth
14:22six million dollars.
14:25Dennis E. Fry
14:26historian
14:27Mosby's men
14:29go right
14:29to Fairfax courthouse.
14:31Mosby sends parties
14:33out to capture horses.
14:35and officers
14:36associated with
14:37the Union Army
14:37but then he discovers
14:39something
14:39$350,000
14:43worth of loot
14:46there stored
14:47in Fairfax County
14:48at the courthouse.
14:50So the story goes
14:51he decides to bury it
14:53and so in the darkness
14:54somewhere
14:55in Virginia
14:57between Fairfax courthouse
15:00and Centerville
15:02there Mosby
15:04buries the loot.
15:06Chuck Morrow
15:06Mosby found
15:08$350,000
15:09worth of gold
15:10silver
15:11and family heirlooms
15:12that had been taken
15:13by the Union soldiers
15:14from the southern homes
15:16and as they left
15:17the legend states
15:18that Mosby
15:20buried the gold
15:21and silver
15:22between two pine trees
15:24that he marked
15:25with an X
15:25with his knife
15:26and only he
15:27and his sergeant
15:28knew the location.
15:30Mosby's treasure
15:31was never recovered
15:32but there is a story
15:34that on his deathbed
15:36he said something
15:37to the effect of
15:38there's a fortune
15:39in the hills
15:41of Virginia
15:41to suggest that
15:43maybe it had been
15:43left behind.
15:45So people
15:46ever since
15:46have been looking
15:47for trees
15:47with X's carved in them
15:48trying to find
15:50Mosby's treasure.
15:52Could the Great Ghost's
15:54fable lost treasure
15:55really be hiding
15:57in a Virginia forest?
15:59While it could be easy
16:00to dismiss the story
16:01as pure myth
16:02remarkably
16:03a very real
16:05Civil War treasure
16:06has recently
16:08been discovered.
16:09In the summer
16:10of 2023
16:11on his property
16:12a farmer
16:13in Kentucky
16:14made
16:15a pretty interesting
16:17discovery.
16:18This man looks
16:18down in the dirt
16:19of the recently
16:20plowed field
16:21and sees some gold coins.
16:22By the time
16:23he's done
16:23rooting around
16:24in the recently
16:25plowed field
16:25he's pulled out
16:27over 800 coins
16:28over 700
16:30of which
16:30are gold.
16:32These coins
16:32are all minted
16:33in the years
16:34before the Civil War
16:35and during the Civil War
16:37up until
16:381863.
16:40And here we are
16:41in 2023
16:43and a man
16:44has just found
16:45this mother load
16:46of coins
16:47that date
16:48to the era
16:49of the Civil War.
16:50It's a significant
16:51find.
16:52The massive
16:53cash of riches
16:55is estimated
16:56to be worth
16:56more than
16:57two million dollars
16:57and is a priceless
16:59incentive
17:00to relic hunters
17:01to continue
17:03their search
17:03for treasures
17:04of the Civil War.
17:07Growing up
17:08and exploring
17:08Virginia
17:09I find myself
17:10retracing the paths
17:12the steps
17:12those soldiers
17:13would have taken
17:14searching
17:15for any
17:16trinkets
17:17or treasures
17:17they may have
17:18dropped along the way.
17:20I was out
17:20detecting one day
17:21and stumbled upon
17:22this small pocket knife
17:24which doesn't look
17:25like much
17:26but given
17:26the context
17:28and the story
17:29of General Mosby
17:30marking the treasure
17:31with his knife
17:32I thought to myself
17:33maybe
17:34just maybe
17:35this could be
17:36the knife
17:36unfortunately
17:37the knife
17:38was all that
17:38was there
17:39but it gives me
17:40the thought
17:41that possibly
17:42maybe
17:43treasure
17:44could be buried
17:45nearby.
17:46There is always
17:47the possibility
17:48that John Mosby's
17:50treasure is still
17:51out there
17:52and that I could
17:53be the one
17:53to find it.
17:54Will the gray ghost
17:58treasure
17:58ever be found?
18:00I guess it depends
18:01on whether anyone
18:02can locate
18:03those two pine trees
18:04if even
18:05they're still standing.
18:08But sometimes
18:09the most intriguing
18:10secrets are hiding
18:11in plain sight.
18:13For instance
18:13there's the story
18:15of a prominent
18:17southern socialite
18:18who controlled
18:20a spy ring
18:21inside the headquarters
18:23of the confederate
18:24states of America.
18:30Richmond, Virginia
18:31evidence of
18:32the southern city's
18:33strategic importance
18:34during the civil war
18:35can still be found.
18:37There is the
18:38Tredegar Ironworks
18:39where over half
18:40the cannons used
18:40by the southern states
18:41were made.
18:43The Timuraza Hospital
18:44which treated
18:45over 76,000 injured soldiers
18:47and the White House
18:49of the Confederacy
18:50the south's
18:51base of operations.
18:53Nathan Hall
18:54in 1861
18:55Richmond becomes
18:56the capital
18:57of the Confederacy
18:57and then basically
18:58all the government
18:59is going to flood
19:00to it and massively
19:01increase the population.
19:03So Richmond becomes
19:03the center of
19:04Confederate legislation
19:05but also the center
19:06of moving food
19:08and weapons
19:09and war materials
19:10to all the theaters
19:12of war.
19:13It will have
19:13Confederate government
19:14and departments
19:15so of war department
19:16and Navy department.
19:17All the stuff
19:18that comes with
19:18trying to run a government
19:19is grafted on
19:21to Richmond.
19:22Three portraits appear.
19:24In addition to
19:25President Jefferson Davis
19:26other key figures
19:28like Vice President
19:29Alexander Stevens
19:30and General Robert E. Lee
19:32the Supreme Commander
19:33of the Confederate Army
19:34all made Richmond
19:36their home.
19:39As local residents
19:40of status and wealth
19:41began to socialize
19:42with the men
19:43who were tasked
19:44with saving the south
19:45an unlikely spy
19:47was secretly plotting
19:48to defeat them.
19:50A woman turns.
19:51Her name
19:52was Elizabeth Van Loo.
19:56Elizabeth Van Loo
19:57was from a wealthy family.
19:59She was born
19:59and raised
20:00in Richmond, Virginia.
20:02Throughout the 1840s
20:03and 1850s
20:04she's vocally advocating
20:05for abolition
20:06of slavery
20:07which is
20:08a fairly dangerous
20:09thing to do
20:09in Richmond, Virginia
20:11of the 1840s
20:12and 1850s.
20:13When war came
20:15Elizabeth Van Loo
20:15ended up
20:16leading an espionage network
20:18to collect
20:19military information
20:21information that
20:21would be of value
20:22and transmit it
20:23successfully
20:24to the United States
20:26Army.
20:27So the Van Loo
20:28spy ring
20:28is the story
20:29of the most
20:31successful spy network
20:32of the Civil War.
20:34The consequences
20:35for spying
20:36were severe.
20:38You could be
20:38sentenced to death
20:39if you were found
20:40to be guilty
20:41of spying
20:41in Richmond.
20:43But she helped
20:44to get information
20:45out about
20:46the Confederate government
20:47and the Confederate military
20:49at a time
20:50when the U.S.
20:50really needed
20:51valuable,
20:53actionable intelligence.
20:54So it says a lot
20:55about the people
20:56who were willing
20:56to do this
20:57because they were
20:58willing to gamble
21:00with their lives.
21:01With the ever-present threat
21:03of being caught
21:03and punished
21:04by death,
21:05how did an established
21:06Southern Belle
21:07become the most successful
21:09spy master
21:10of the Civil War?
21:12Well,
21:13some believe it was
21:14because she employed
21:14secret agents
21:15that could easily
21:17hide in plain sight
21:18among Richmond's
21:20Confederate leadership.
21:22Van Loo
21:23recruited African Americans
21:25as spies.
21:28Van Loo
21:29understood
21:30Southern culture
21:31because she was
21:33a part of it.
21:34She understood
21:35how they thought,
21:36how they viewed
21:37Black people.
21:38and so she understood
21:40that if she sent
21:42Black people out
21:43to spy,
21:45that they could be
21:45very successful
21:46because no one
21:48would ever expect
21:49that they had
21:50the intelligence
21:51or the courage
21:52to carry
21:53any of her plans out.
21:55And she realized
21:57that if she was going
21:58to be successful,
21:59if she was going
22:00to aid the Union,
22:02she would have to use
22:03Black people
22:04to help her
22:05in that endeavor.
22:05as she brought them
22:07into this whole thing.
22:09But we're still
22:11trying to find out
22:12the extent
22:12to which
22:13African Americans
22:14were involved
22:15in intelligence
22:17gathering
22:17during the Civil War.
22:19We can't always
22:21put a name
22:22to these people
22:23because their operations
22:25were clandestine.
22:27The identities
22:29of Elizabeth
22:29Van Loo's spies
22:30remain largely
22:31a mystery.
22:32But remarkably,
22:33there is evidence
22:34to suggest
22:35that she was able
22:36to place
22:36an African American spy
22:37inside the most important
22:39Confederate residence
22:40in all of Richmond,
22:41the home
22:42of the Confederate
22:44President himself,
22:46Jefferson Davis.
22:48In 1911,
22:51Harper's Monthly Magazine
22:52published a story
22:53and that story
22:55detailed
22:56that Elizabeth Van Loo
22:58had been a spy
22:59in Richmond
22:59during the Civil War
23:00on behalf
23:01of the United States.
23:01and it said
23:03that an African American woman
23:05had been placed
23:06in the home
23:06of Jefferson Davis
23:07as a spy.
23:08It named that woman
23:09as Mary Elizabeth Bowser
23:12and that story
23:14from 1911
23:14has been
23:15kind of repeated
23:16and re-repeated
23:18and embellished
23:19for 100 plus years.
23:22Edna Green Medford.
23:23The person
23:24that we certainly
23:25celebrate more
23:26than anyone else
23:27is Mary Elizabeth Bowser.
23:31She was a young woman
23:32who grew up
23:34in the Van Loo household.
23:37Historians have grappled
23:39in recent years
23:40with her true identity
23:42because she used
23:44a variety of aliases
23:45during her life
23:46and it makes sense
23:48because if she's
23:49engaged in espionage,
23:51she doesn't want anyone
23:53to know her true identity.
23:55So it's been very difficult
23:57as a consequence
23:58for historians
24:00to really trace her life.
24:03Historians would love to know
24:04if she was actually
24:05in the Confederate White House
24:08and what she actually
24:10discovered while there
24:12and how that might have
24:14impacted the war.
24:15But we just don't have
24:16that information.
24:18A re-enactor rifles
24:19through papers.
24:21Did an African-American spy
24:22named Mary Elizabeth Bowser
24:24really infiltrate
24:26the Confederate White House?
24:28While the mystery lives on,
24:30we do know
24:31that Elizabeth Van Loo's spy ring
24:33proved hugely successful.
24:36In fact,
24:37her clandestine operations
24:38even garnered praise
24:40from the commander
24:41of the Union Army,
24:42General Ulysses S. Grant.
24:45Ulysses Grant
24:45said about Elizabeth Van Loo,
24:47you provided me
24:48with the most valuable information
24:49I received from Richmond
24:50during the war.
24:52That's pretty high praise.
24:53Similarly,
24:54George Sharp,
24:55head of military intelligence,
24:57said that Elizabeth Van Loo
24:59was all that was left
25:00of the power
25:00of the U.S. government
25:01in Richmond.
25:03So the people
25:04that are most positioned
25:05to say whether or not
25:07this was valuable
25:08unequivocally said
25:10how valuable
25:10the Richmond spy network was.
25:13The courage shown
25:15by Elizabeth Van Loo
25:16and the African-Americans
25:17who participated
25:19in the Richmond spy ring
25:20must have outweighed
25:22the fear
25:22they felt
25:24conducting such
25:25a dangerous mission.
25:26But there's another mystery
25:28that's frightening
25:29for a very different reason.
25:31It involves
25:32a grotesque monster
25:33set to roam
25:34one of the Civil War's
25:35bloodiest battlefields.
25:41Chickamauga and Chattanooga
25:42National Military Park.
25:45Overlooking the winding
25:46Tennessee River,
25:48this picturesque site
25:49spans 9,000 acres
25:50across the border
25:52of Tennessee and Georgia.
25:54A tower stands on a hill.
25:56In 1863,
25:57this was the site
25:58of the second
25:59bloodiest battle
26:00of the Civil War
26:01after Gettysburg.
26:03It's the Battle
26:04of Chickamauga.
26:06The Battle of Chickamauga
26:08took place in Tennessee
26:09a few months
26:10after the Battle
26:11of Gettysburg
26:12and the carnage
26:13was awful.
26:14Confederate General
26:16John Gordon
26:17would write in his book
26:18about the battle
26:18that he had heard
26:20that the word
26:21Chickamauga
26:21translates to
26:23River of Blood.
26:24He got the translation
26:25wrong,
26:26but he got the spirit
26:28of it right.
26:29It was the river
26:30of death.
26:31Reenactors fire muskets.
26:33More than 100,000
26:35soldiers met
26:36at the Battle
26:37of Chickamauga
26:37and 34,000
26:40were either killed
26:41or injured.
26:43In addition
26:44to this river
26:45of death,
26:46according to
26:46local legend,
26:48soldiers on the
26:49Chickamauga battlefield
26:50saw an even more
26:51disturbing sight.
26:54A terrifying creature
26:55ticking through
26:57the corpses
26:57that has come
26:58to be known
26:59as
26:59Old Green Eyes.
27:02Old Green Eyes
27:03is a very difficult
27:05story to pinpoint
27:06because there are
27:07so many variations
27:08of the legend.
27:11One of the prevailing
27:11theories is that
27:12he is possibly
27:13a demon
27:14that has come
27:14to feed on
27:15that negativity.
27:17And so when
27:17Chickamauga was
27:18such a large
27:19loss of life
27:19that was protracted
27:20over several days,
27:22that may have
27:22attracted the interest
27:23of something
27:24that's malevolent.
27:25Old Green Eyes
27:27has been described
27:27as a predatory cat.
27:30He's been described
27:31as a small
27:32goblin-like creature.
27:34He's also been
27:35described as a soldier
27:37who possibly lost
27:38his head to a cannonball
27:40during the battle.
27:42A cannon fires
27:43and a soldier collapses.
27:45And he is out
27:46searching for it.
27:49The one thing
27:50that's consistent
27:50is they always
27:51describe them
27:52as having glowing
27:53green eyes.
27:54Mark Nesbitt.
27:55The legend is that
27:56soldiers
27:57would see
27:58this indistinct
27:59shape out
28:01in front of them
28:01as it got closer.
28:03They would see
28:03these piercing
28:04green eyes
28:05staring at them.
28:06But of course
28:07we're not 100% sure
28:09about any of this.
28:12Is Old Green Eyes
28:14a real thing?
28:16Is this a hallucination?
28:18That I don't know.
28:19That's the mystery.
28:21But we do know
28:23that the savagery
28:24was real
28:24and it was an awful
28:26thing to witness.
28:29The men,
28:29they didn't have
28:30a term called
28:31post-traumatic stress
28:32syndrome,
28:33but no doubt
28:33they all went home
28:35with it.
28:36Is the legend
28:37of Old Green Eyes
28:38based on a real-fashioned
28:40blood monster?
28:41Or is it a story
28:42meant to describe
28:43the madness
28:44of war?
28:45Two eyes glow green.
28:47Clues might be found
28:48in indigenous folklore
28:50that is surprisingly
28:52similar to the stories
28:54of the horrific creature.
28:57In Native American lore,
28:58there are several places
28:59where there are mounds
29:00that they believe
29:01are protected
29:01by entities
29:02and spirits,
29:04much like what
29:05Old Green Eyes
29:05would be described as.
29:06In the middle
29:08of the Chickamauga
29:09battlefield
29:10stands Snodgrass Hill
29:11and it's about
29:12900 foot tall
29:13at elevation.
29:15It is possible
29:16that that mound
29:17had some spiritual
29:18significance
29:19to Native Americans
29:20who lived in that area
29:21because during the battle
29:23it was where
29:24Green Eyes
29:25is seen the most.
29:27Strange stories
29:27of creatures,
29:28monsters,
29:29and ghosts
29:29have been around
29:30for millennia
29:31and they cross
29:32all cultures.
29:33So it's quite possible
29:34that Native Americans
29:35had some belief
29:36in something
29:37in this region
29:38and that after the battle
29:40they sort of got
29:41mixed and merged together.
29:43We're trying to put a name
29:44on something
29:45we don't understand.
29:46While it's hard
29:47to pinpoint
29:48the true origin
29:49of this legend
29:49and it's easy
29:50to dismiss the idea
29:51of a monster
29:52with glowing green eyes,
29:55to this day
29:56locals claim
29:57they've seen
29:59the beast.
30:00One of the earlier ones
30:02that I researched
30:04was about a young man
30:06who was on his way
30:06to pick up a date.
30:08He lived in Tennessee
30:09and he was driving down
30:11into Georgia
30:11to pick her up
30:12and on the way through
30:14it was a foggy night
30:15and in the distance
30:16he noticed
30:17an oncoming car
30:18had green headlights
30:19and as he got closer
30:20he noticed
30:21that they weren't
30:22headlights at all
30:23but glowing green eyes
30:25and they appeared
30:25to be running towards him.
30:28This of course
30:28startles him
30:29and he wrecks his car
30:30off to the side
30:31of the road.
30:31It's a very strange
30:33occurrence,
30:33very odd.
30:34An article appears.
30:36Every legend
30:36is real
30:37to some extent
30:38so
30:39if people
30:41are seeing things
30:42and then giving it
30:43that label
30:43like old green eyes
30:45that was real
30:45to them.
30:47A story
30:47can't endure
30:48and stick around
30:49if it's not
30:50getting reinforced
30:51by other people
30:52having an experience.
30:53So in that regard
30:54yeah
30:55it's absolutely real.
30:56did the terrible
30:59carnage
31:00on the Chickamauga
31:01battlefield
31:02attract the attention
31:03of a bloodthirsty monster
31:05or was the legend
31:06of old green eyes
31:08created to try
31:09and make sense
31:10the horrors of war?
31:13Whatever the case
31:15there's another
31:16chilling
31:17civil war mystery
31:19one of
31:20deadly premonitions
31:21not from a battlefield
31:23but from the mind
31:25of Abraham Lincoln
31:27himself.
31:32The White House
31:33December 1862
31:35In the oval-shaped parlor
31:38known as the Red Room
31:40where America's
31:41First Ladies
31:41traditionally held
31:43receptions
31:43for visiting dignitaries
31:45President Abraham Lincoln's
31:47wife
31:48Mary Todd Lincoln
31:49welcomes guests
31:50for an unusual event.
31:53The group
31:53is holding a seance
31:55to contact
31:56the Lincolns
31:57dead son.
31:59In February 1862
32:01the Lincolns
32:02lost their favorite son
32:03Willie Lincoln
32:04and that was
32:05a very dark time
32:06for the Lincoln family
32:07and Abraham
32:09and Mary Lincoln
32:10fell into
32:11an extraordinarily
32:12deep grief.
32:14They had lost
32:14another son
32:15earlier in their lives
32:16but this one
32:18really hit hard.
32:20Jonathan White
32:20During the Lincoln
32:22presidency
32:22Mary Todd Lincoln
32:23was holding seances
32:25in the White House
32:26she was so distraught
32:28so she would bring in
32:29mediums
32:30to try to
32:31communicate
32:32with his spirit
32:33and we know
32:33President Lincoln
32:34attended at least
32:35one of them
32:35because he paid
32:37a bit of a political
32:37price in the newspapers
32:38that said
32:40what's this president
32:40doing consulting
32:41with mediums
32:42and psychics
32:43and things like that.
32:44Jeff Bellinger
32:45Despite the flack
32:47President Lincoln
32:48received
32:49the notion
32:50of spiritualism
32:51the belief
32:52that the dead
32:53could communicate
32:54with the living
32:55via psychic mediums
32:56was actually
32:58on the rise
32:59during the Civil War
33:00and Lincoln himself
33:02was no exception.
33:03During the Civil War
33:05this is a time period
33:07when people
33:08all over the world
33:09believe in this
33:10spiritualist idea
33:11of communicating
33:12with the dead
33:13and over the course
33:15of the Civil War
33:16there are intense
33:18casualties
33:18on the battlefield
33:19so people are having
33:22seances
33:22to speak to their
33:24long lost dead.
33:25I think President Lincoln
33:27was probably more
33:28spiritually in tune
33:29than most
33:29especially considering
33:31the pressure
33:32he was under.
33:35His son died
33:36while he's in the
33:37White House.
33:38His nation's
33:39at war with itself.
33:41Tens of thousands
33:42of people dying
33:43on both sides
33:44you're desperately
33:44trying to hold
33:45this country together
33:47it's now your charge
33:48you're the president
33:49and of course
33:50he paid the ultimate
33:51price for the office.
33:53Lincoln smiles
33:54in a portrait.
33:55Washington D.C.
33:56April 14th 1865.
33:59Just five days
34:01after the South's
34:02surrender
34:02ends the Civil War
34:04President Abraham Lincoln
34:06and his wife
34:06attend a play
34:07at Ford's Theater
34:08and as the show
34:09is about to begin
34:10a gunshot rings up.
34:13Lincoln slumps
34:14forward in his seat
34:15mortally wounded
34:16by an assassin
34:18named John Wilkes Booth.
34:21David C. Keene
34:22John Wilkes Booth
34:24was a Confederate
34:25sympathizer
34:26and a very famous actor.
34:28That night
34:29he went in
34:30secretly
34:30went outside
34:32the president's box
34:33opened the door
34:36he had a derringer
34:37rushed in
34:38and shot the president
34:39in the head.
34:40Lance Geiger
34:41when John Wilkes Booth
34:43assassinates Lincoln
34:44he jumps down
34:45he catches his leg
34:46in a bunting
34:47but he yells
34:48sick semper tyrannis
34:50which means
34:50thus always
34:51to tyrants
34:52so it's personal
34:53for him
34:54he hates
34:55Abraham Lincoln
34:56and there were people
34:58who thought of Lincoln
34:59as a tyrant.
35:00while Lincoln's
35:02assassination
35:03is well known
35:04in the wake
35:05of this tragic event
35:06Lincoln's biographer
35:08and friend
35:09Ward Hill
35:10Laman
35:10claims that
35:11Lincoln had told him
35:12of a terrible dream
35:13he had
35:14just three days
35:16before his murder.
35:18A photo
35:18depicts the men.
35:20Ward Hill Laman
35:21was Lincoln's
35:22self-appointed
35:23bodyguard.
35:24They were very close
35:25to one another.
35:26In 1872
35:28Laman
35:29published
35:30a biography
35:30of Lincoln
35:31and according
35:33to Laman
35:33Lincoln
35:35had a dream
35:36that he was
35:36in the White House
35:37and Lincoln
35:38heard all sorts
35:39of weeping
35:39and wailing
35:40and in his dream
35:42he made his way
35:43through the White House
35:44and went downstairs
35:45into the East Room
35:47and when he got there
35:49he saw a catafalque
35:50with a corpse
35:51on it
35:52being guarded
35:53by a soldier
35:53and Lincoln
35:55went up
35:56to the soldier
35:56and said
35:57who is dead
35:57in the White House
35:58and the soldier
35:59replied
36:00the president
36:01he's been shot
36:02by an assassin
36:03and according
36:05to Laman
36:06Lincoln told this story
36:07to Mary
36:08and to several
36:09other people
36:09and that Lincoln
36:11looked very disturbed
36:12by the dream
36:13he had had.
36:14Did President
36:16Abraham Lincoln
36:17have a premonition
36:18of his own death?
36:20It's a question
36:21that has intrigued
36:22historians
36:23for over 150 years.
36:26Did Lincoln
36:27actually have
36:28a premonition
36:28or was this
36:29simply what
36:30the exhausted
36:32and stressed mind
36:33produced
36:34in moments
36:35of unconscious sleep?
36:37By the time
36:38you get to April 1865
36:39Lincoln's exhaustion
36:40is total.
36:42Think of all
36:42of the deaths
36:43on the battlefield
36:44that must have
36:45just sort of
36:46bounced around
36:46in his consciousness
36:47before he drifted
36:48off to sleep
36:49each night
36:50and a troubled person
36:52their troubles
36:54will be reflected
36:55in their dreams.
36:57I don't know
36:57if Lincoln
36:58was psychic
36:58or clairvoyant
36:59but the night
37:01Lincoln went
37:02to Ford's theater
37:02there was a story
37:04about how
37:05he always said
37:06good night
37:07to one of his guards
37:08it was always
37:09good night
37:10but that night
37:11he said goodbye
37:12and maybe he knew
37:14did he know
37:14it would be that night?
37:15and when we can't
37:17get answers
37:18mysteries are born.
37:25Baltimore, Maryland
37:26February 1861
37:27Members of a
37:30mysterious secret society
37:31wait for Abraham Lincoln
37:32to pass through
37:33the city by train.
37:35Their goal
37:36is to murder
37:37the newly elected
37:39president
37:39before he ascends
37:40to the highest office
37:41in the land.
37:43While this secret plot
37:45was ultimately
37:45discovered
37:46and prevented
37:47by legendary
37:48detective Alan Pickerton
37:49it revealed
37:50the existence
37:51of a shadowy
37:52organization
37:53known as
37:54the Knights
37:55of the Golden Circle.
37:57Jonathan W. White
37:58The Knights
37:59of the Golden Circle
38:00was a secret society
38:01that was born
38:02in the mid-1850s
38:03by a man
38:05named George Bickley.
38:07The Knights
38:07of the Golden Circle
38:08was a secret society
38:10with 25 or 50,000 members
38:12and the Knights
38:13secrecy
38:14was composed
38:15of rituals
38:16but the rituals
38:17were kept oral
38:18so what they were saying
38:20was really never disclosed.
38:22There were passwords
38:23needed
38:24to get into
38:25Knights' meetings
38:25and because of the secrecy
38:27it's very hard
38:28to decipher
38:29what the Knights
38:30actually did
38:31and didn't do.
38:32The Knights
38:32of the Golden Circle
38:33wanted to create
38:33a new world
38:34a new country
38:35designated
38:36the Golden Circle
38:37and that is
38:37the southern states
38:39stretching all the way
38:41around Mexico
38:41encircling the Caribbean
38:43where slavery
38:44would be
38:45enshrined
38:46as a part
38:46of the Constitution
38:47and so
38:48Lincoln became
38:49an annoyance
38:50that they had
38:51to deal with.
38:52The Knights
38:53of the Golden Circle
38:54operated largely
38:55in the north
38:56and they were seen
38:57as a secret
38:58traitorous society
38:59that may have
39:00wanted to overthrow
39:01the Union
39:01from within.
39:03When Lincoln
39:03was assassinated
39:04in 1865
39:05Americans
39:07at the time
39:07believed that
39:08the Knights
39:09of the Golden Circle
39:10may have been
39:11behind the
39:11assassination
39:12conspiracy.
39:14While we know
39:15the Knights
39:15of the Golden Circle
39:16plotted to kill
39:17Abraham Lincoln
39:17in 1861
39:19many have wondered
39:20was the assassination
39:22of Lincoln
39:23in 1865
39:24also
39:25the work
39:26of the secret society?
39:28David C. Keene
39:29There was an
39:301865
39:31woodprint
39:32that says
39:33theory
39:35practice
39:36effect
39:37and under
39:38the theory
39:38it shows
39:39George Bickley
39:40he was the head
39:40of the Knights
39:41of the Golden Circle
39:42under practice
39:44it shows Booth
39:45as having
39:46been the one
39:47that assassinated
39:49Lincoln
39:49and the effect
39:50was Lincoln's
39:51assassination
39:52so I believe
39:53that the wood
39:54panel
39:55alleges some
39:56connection
39:57between
39:57the Knights
39:58Booth
39:59and the Lincoln
40:00assassination
40:00so that's
40:02one of the
40:02mysteries
40:02involved here
40:04was that really
40:05true?
40:05A hand rests
40:06on a book
40:07was a secret
40:08society
40:09the hidden hand
40:10behind one
40:10of the most
40:10infamous assassinations
40:12in American history?
40:13We may never know
40:15but like so many
40:17stories
40:18from the Civil War
40:19solving each
40:21mystery
40:21may be as
40:22complicated
40:23as the history
40:24of the United States
40:26itself
40:26The Civil War
40:29continues to capture
40:30our imagination
40:32because the conflict
40:33remains incredibly
40:35important to the
40:36overall broader
40:37narrative of the
40:37American experience
40:38and there are still
40:40going to be
40:41mysteries that need
40:42to be solved
40:43because in many
40:44respects we are
40:45still living in the
40:46shadow of the
40:47American Civil War
40:48There's so much
40:50still that we
40:51don't know
40:52that we're trying
40:53to unpack
40:54about the
40:55Civil War
40:56There will always
40:57be questions
40:58We will never
41:00know all of the
41:01answers
41:01but we have to get
41:02as close to
41:03the truth
41:04as we can
41:05The idea that a
41:08secret society
41:09with radical plans
41:10may be responsible
41:12for the tragic
41:13assassination of
41:14President Lincoln
41:15just goes to show
41:17us that even
41:18today
41:18160 years after
41:21the last shots
41:21were fired
41:22there are still
41:23many mysteries
41:24yet to be solved
41:26about the
41:27American Civil War
41:28Whether it's
41:30spy rings
41:31or premonitions
41:32or even
41:33monstrous
41:34creatures
41:35historians
41:36researchers
41:36and treasure
41:38hunters
41:38will continue
41:39to explore
41:40the fascinating
41:41stories of
41:42millions of
41:43Americans
41:43who experienced
41:44the bloodiest
41:46days to ever
41:47occur on
41:48U.S. soil
41:48These tales
41:50continue to be
41:51a source of
41:52curiosity
41:53fascination
41:55and may
41:56forever remain
41:57unexplained
42:05and may
42:06be
42:07to be
42:07to be
42:08a source
42:08of
42:09the
42:09people
42:10who
42:10have
42:10been
42:11to be
42:11to be
Recommended
41:16
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