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| George 'Buster' Singleton |
(For decades, local historian and paranormal investigator
George “Buster” Singleton published a weekly newspaper column called “Somewhere
in Time.” The column below, which was titled “Civil War statues appeared to
shed tears of blood,” was originally published in the Oct. 8, 1992 edition of
The Monroe Journal in Monroeville, Ala.)
Throughout my life, I have devoted much time and energy
visiting the battlefield and skirmish sites of our dreadful Civil War. Since
the time that I learned to read, I have spent hours researching the facts of
this terrible time in our history. I have visited some areas many times, each
time seeing or learning some strange fact or story that I had overlooked on my
last visit there.
As a young child, I sat many hours and listened to stories
about my great-grandfathers and my great-great-uncles and of the struggles and
hardships they encountered during the years of the war. Because of these
stories handed down through the family, I sometimes feel that I too might have
been a part of those days of suffering and hardships. These feelings are often
times hard for me to understand.
Just a few weekends ago, my wife and I journeyed to
Vicksburg, Miss. We have been to this area many times in the past, but the
desire to return presents itself every year or so. We also have good friends
that live in Vicksburg, and they, too, are Civil War buffs. So, over a cup of
hot coffee, many stories are relived, and time permitting, many of the battle
sites are visited once again.
As we stood among the many markers and looked at the various
statues that had been placed as tributes to the fallen soldiers from both the
North and South, we knew that we were standing on hallowed ground. On the 18th
of May 1863, the Battle of Vicksburg began; it last until July 4, 1863, when
Confederate Gen. John Pemberton surrendered what was left of his army. Around
29,000 Confederate soldiers laid down their arms that day. Many young men from
both sides spent the last hours of their lives on this hill overlooking the
great Mississippi River.
As I stood looking at this particular statue, the thought
came to mind that something about this one seemed familiar. Then I remembered
that I had visited this same spot, a few years back, during the late hours of
the night. As I stood and faced the statue of three soldiers standing with
heads bowed, the story of the statue and the happenings of that night several
years ago came to mind.
I remembered being told that during the hours around
midnight, tears of blood could be seen falling from the eyes of the soldiers.
My two friends, who had accompanied me on this trip to Vicksburg, laughed at
the story and only one of them decided that he would brave the night air and
visit the statue with me to see for ourselves.
While the other friend slept soundly in our motel room, the
two of us made our way to this place on the large battlefield. We parked some
distance away and sat down on the thick grass near the monument to wait for
something to happen. As the hour of midnight approached, we heard the hushed
voices of several others behind where we were sitting. They were wondering if
the statues of the Confederate soldiers would do tonight what they had come to
see. The wait began; the time of midnight was close at hand. If it was to
happen, we would soon know.
The lights of Vicksburg could be seen faintly in the
distance. The granite statue loomed up into the night about 18 feet. I had
taken my eyes away from the monument for a few moments as I looked in the
direction of the distant river.
From behind my friend and I came a loud gasp for breath,
then the words, “Oh my God, look.” Turning my eyes to the statues of the three
soldiers, I saw teardrops that appeared the color of blood, falling from the
eyes of one of the statues. I felt a strong grasp on my left arm as my
terrified friend began to shake his head and try to say something. We were now
standing; not knowing that we had gotten to our feet from our seat on the thick
grass. All three of us were standing deathly still, looking toward the statue
in sheer amazement.
The sound of someone weeping could be heard from among those
who were standing behind us. It sounded like a woman crying. I continued to
stare at the statues; I wasn’t believing what I was seeing. But sure enough,
what seemed to be tears of blood continued to fall slowly to the base of the
statue. The crying from behind us continued. It now seemed as if someone else
had started crying also.
After what seemed to be about 10 minutes, the blood-colored
tears ceased to fall. I wanted to go to the base of the monument and see for
myself if there was evidence of the fallen tears there, but no one moved. The
crying from behind us had ceased; a sniffle or two was heard as the sound of
someone who had been crying cleared their throat. As I stepped toward the
statues, it seemed as everyone else was thinking as I was. About 12 people,
those who had witnessed this strange event, all stepped forward, almost as one.
But there was nothing to be found there on the base of the large statue.
Today I did the same thing that I had done that night several
years ago, I stepped forward and ran my fingers around the base of the large
monument.
Do these soldiers weep for those thousands fallen here 129
years ago? Or do they weep for the dead of all the wars that our country has
fought in and forgotten so quickly? We owe it to them; we must remember.
(Singleton, the author of the 1991 book “Of Foxfire and
Phantom Soldiers,” passed away at the age of 79 on July 19, 2007. A longtime
resident of Monroeville, he was born on Dec. 14, 1927 in Marengo County and
served as the administrator of the Monroeville National Guard unit from 1964 to
1987. He is buried in Pineville Cemetery in Monroeville. The column above and
all of Singleton’s other columns are available to the public through the
microfilm records at the Monroe County Public Library in Monroeville. Singleton’s
columns are presented here each week for research and scholarship purposes and
as part of an effort to keep his work and memory alive.)
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