SMITHSBURG, Md. — The Smithsburg branch of the Washington County Free Library system hosted a spooky evening of stories taken from the “Ghosts of Antietam” with author and historian, Mark P. Brugh on Tuesday night.
Stories from the battlefield
Mark P. Brugh is the author of “Ghosts of Antietam” (Arcadia Publishing, 2026) and co-author of “Civil War Ghosts of Sharpsburg” (Arcadia Publishing, 2015) which was co-written by Julia Brugh. Mark and Julia are also the founders of the popular Sharpsburg Civil War Ghost Tours.
The “Ghosts of Antietam” presentation was a combination of stories from the book as well as the motivation and experiences that the author faced while writing the collection. The evening began with the host sharing a little of the background of his first venture into historical paranormal writing with his wife, Julia, and the publication of their first book in 2015.
Having collected many stories through his work with the Sharpsburg ghost tours, Mark decided to write a follow-up book focusing his attention directly on the battlefield.
A tour of spooks
The book best serves as a companion to the tour itself as it is written in the same order as the tour route. The book itself is a part of the “Haunted America” book series from Arcadia Publishing and covers a wide range of stories from folklore to eyewitness accounts.
Some of the stories that Brugh shared with the packed library community room included the story of the Red Fog of Dunker Church and the Phantom of the Pike.
The story of the mysterious red fog was shared with Brugh by re-enactors who frequently set up camp in the yard of Dunker Church during battle re-enactments. Brugh shared that some of the participants who woke early in the morning would see a strange red fog circling the perimeter of the church.
There would be no other fog anywhere around the battlefield, just the church and why was it red? Brugh stated he had never experienced this phenomenon himself but did share the stories in his book.
Brugh also shared the story of Capt. Werner von Bachelle of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry who was killed in the First Corps advance. His faithful dog stayed behind to guard his body as his troops advanced. When the men returned, they found their captain dead with the body of his beloved canine draped over him. It appeared that the dog had laid its body over its owner in an attempt to prevent him from being shot.
Women of the battle
Brugh also shared the story of Clara Barton and the time she spent at Antietam tending to wounded soldiers, including the story of soldier who confessed to being a woman on her death bed and begged Barton to bury her in a separate grave from the men. A story Brugh pointed out was also shared in the memoirs of a woman named Sarah Emma Edmonds, who fought at Antietam with the 2nd Michigan infantry under the name Frank Thompson and claimed that she was the one who received the confession and buried the lady soldier in a separate grave.
A night of frightful history
Mark and Julia still operate the Sharpsburg Civil War Ghost Tours and still collect stories of supernatural encounters shared by visitors. For more information about the tour including their fall schedule, readers may visit their website at: https://www.smalltownghosttours.net/.
The books written by the Brughs are currently available online and are available at bookstores such as Barnes and Noble.
For more information about upcoming events taking place at the Smithsburg branch and other branches in Washington County, readers may visit the library website at: http://www.washcolibrary.org.
