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Displaced Militia Man

By nimrod
(2 stories) (17 posts) (the author is a young adult)
Date: 2008-02-11
Country: United States
State: Missouri
Paranormal Category: Apparitions / Voices / Touches

I live in a quiet suburb in a 1-story house. At the time, I was sleeping in the upstairs bedroom. When this happened, I was 9 years old and suffering from insomnia. I would often read or watch TV to try and coax myself to sleep. After making myself somewhat sleepy, I proceeded to lay down to attempt to sleep.

My bed faced my door, which I left open. I couldn't get myself to sleep, so I jolted up to grab a book or the remote when I saw a figure in my doorway. I looked up to see if it was my grandma, who was one of the people I lived with. Instead of being a short, happy older woman, it was a tall, brooding man with an old style musket rifle, dating back to revolutionary war times. The man has a tall, pointed hat and appeared to be in British military attire of the period. He pointed this musket at my head, so I darted under the covers. I came up almost a few seconds after seeing the figure and it had disappeared. I got really scared and went downstairs to sleep in my mother's room.

The spirit has not manifested itself into a full bodied apparition since then, but eerie feelings in that room and area of the house still occur.

Even to this day, I'm baffled about why a Revolutionary War period ghost haunted my house. I live in an area that wasn't fought in during that war, and wasn't inhabited until the Louisiana Purchase. I'm attempting to research the spirit, but with little success. If anyone would like to assist me in the research, I would be glad.

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Comments about this paranormal experience

The following comments are submitted by users of this site and are not official positions by yourghoststories.com. Please read our guidelines and the previous posts before posting. The author, nimrod, has the following expectation about your feedback: I will read the comments and participate in the discussion.

kaya-stewart (10 posts)

14 years ago (2010-07-31)

is this the man you saw? Http://www.britishbattles.com/images/princeton/grenadier-l.jpg

hazzardsyndrome (10 stories) (121 posts)

15 years ago (2009-01-24)

is there an object in your home that could be linked to it? Spirits are sometimes connected to things rather then places, even bricks from on old building used in a new build can bring their memories with them.
Take care

nimrod (2 stories) (17 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-16)

to whitebuffalo:
I figured that too.
I also smell smoke in the house.
I'm going to try and talk to him.
:D
thanks everyone

whitebuffalo (guest)

16 years ago (2008-02-16)

Ah, four comments down you mention that the musket was still smoking...
On the off chance that this would be a residual haunting, (he is just an imprint on the air of the room, no ghost, just a FILM of the ghost) it would appear that you caught the last of the fighting action of this British soldier. Did you see him reload?
I assumed that he "dissolved" immediately after the aiming of the musket. Thereby associating it with an intelligent haunting (the ghost is letting its presence be known, and you can interact with them), but as I read through this again, you did not see when he did vanish. You were, uh, shall we say otherwise occupied? 😉
There is the probability that this may have been residual and for some reason he was at that location at some point in time. Perhaps he found a homestead and stayed on after the war. Stranger things have happened. People find people connection in times of crisis and maintain them afterward. It has always amazed me as to the bonds that are formed during wars.
Just another thought for you. Though in looking back, I would say we have covered ALL the bases and have given you much more to look into instead of narrowing it down for you.
Thank you.

Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

Nimrod, I am very pleased that you are making progress on unraveling this. By the time you finish your research, you may not only have a better understanding of what you experienced, but you may develop a new appreciation for history along the way. Experiencing the past as you did is not only a great privilege, but it is so much more exciting than way it is taught in school. 😁

nimrod (2 stories) (17 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

correction:
not French vs British,
Americans vs British
revolutionary war
😁

nimrod (2 stories) (17 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

Kecoughtan:
you said to search "grenadier"
this result was exactly what the guy looked like.
it was a battle between the French and British and this guy is British.
http://www.britishbattles.com/images/princeton/grenadier-l.jpg

nimrod (2 stories) (17 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

thanks.
I'm not a history buff, so this whole thing is a learning experience.
I wouldn't be surprised if I scared it.
But on a related note of the musket thing.
I did see smoke that came out of nowhere but in a manner as if something was shot, and the smoke was coming out the musket afterwards.
do you know what I'm trying to say?
so I think that was this ghost too.

faerielike (15 stories) (268 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

The man could be attached to something in your house. Do you or anyone living in your house collect antiques? Any family heirlooms lying around? Ya' never know. Good luck! 😊

Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

After re-reading your account and looking at KimSouthO's comment about fear and whitebuffalo's about possible intelligence, I wonder if maybe you did not startle and possibly frighten the soldier. As ridiculous as it sounds considering your own fright level during the incident, the fact is that he did not advance towards you or make any other threatening action other than to raise his weapon--which he may have done to protect himself against someone did he not know. Your sudden "jolt" in bed and reaching for an object may have triggered a natural defensive response on his part. Looking down the barrel of any firearm is terrifying, but is it possible that his action was merely a reaction to your movement?

KimSouthO (27 stories) (1960 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

I am wondering that as there was a lot of fear for you at his first appearance, that may be why he does not manifest any longer.

It could be he is stuck on this plane, some un-finished busines or something of that nature keeping him here.

When you feel the presence, talk to him. Tell him it is okay ti cross over, to find peace. Let him know the war is over and he can rest now and stop fighting. Tell him the Lord is waiting to assage his worries and cares, he has gone on long enough. Pray for him to cross over, I will say a prayer for him also.

Thank you for sharing your story!
God Bless!

Ohiowatha (11 stories) (415 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

...i stand corrected! Can't wait to find out what you discover.

thanks!

Ohiowatha (11 stories) (415 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

hmmm, I posted here yesterday that I doubted it could be a british "redcoat" regular because they didn't wear the iconic tri-corner hats of the period.

i bet it was a french soldier that had been posted there. Possibly american, but most american soldiers were concentrated in the east where 99.9% of all fighting in the revolutionary war and nearly all in the french-indain war took place. I would very highly doubt if any engagements between french and british forces occurred in missouri, or anywhere south of the ohio river, at all. But I could be wrong.

keep us posted, this is cool.

ChrisB (6 stories) (1515 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-15)

Hi Nimrod. Very interesting story. I just can't imagine how it felt like seeing a ghost poiting a gun. That was scary. Well I'm glad that there are people who know a lot about there american history and arw willing to give you a helping hand. I don't know much about American history so I can't help you here. I hope to hear from you soon and take care

Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-14)

Nimrod, at the end of the Seven Years' War--also known as the French and Indian War--(1754-1763) most French territories in North America were taken by the British. As far as the uniform, you could try a Goggle image search on "grenadier" to see if those hats are similiar to what you saw. Good luck!

nimrod (2 stories) (17 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-14)

cool thanks.
I knew that there were people out in Missouri before the Purchase, but I thought it was just Native American or French, not British.
i need to research.

TKauf118 (2 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-14)

Kecoughtan is right, there were trading outposts as far west as Missouri during the revolution time period. These lands would also become the site of bloody skirmishes with Colonial Settlers, French, British, and Native Americans. So even though the war itself wasn't fought that far west, there was still much conflict going on, which sometimes the details of said events don't make history books.

-TKauf

Kecoughtan (1 stories) (211 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-14)

Nimrod,you might want to go to the library and read up on 1) your area's/town's local history in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries looking for early European involvement in Missouri and 2) military uniforms. The hat you descibe sounds like the very distinctive pointed types worn by grendiers. The hats are called mitres.

You're right, the United States obtained Missouri in the Louisiana Purchase; however, the region had a very old Native and European history before that time, so an eighteenth-cenury soldier is not necessarily out of place. For instance, there were French colonies along the Mississippi River basin by the early 1700s. During the Ameican Revolution there was a famous campaign along part of the Mississippi in 1778-1779 lead by George Rogers Clark to sieze British outposts at Cahokia and Vincennes. Good luck with making sense of your experience. I hope you find the answers.

nimrod (2 stories) (17 posts)

16 years ago (2008-02-14)

Well...
He was silvery, so I cannot say what the colors of his uniform or hat.
The hat was very distictive.
It was quite tall, with metal decorations.
He had a revolutionary war type uniform.
There's no way it was a pioneer, it was definately a soldier.

whitebuffalo (guest)

16 years ago (2008-02-14)

It would sound as if this was an intelligent haunting as he aimed his musket at you. Is there any chance that this was NOT a soldier, but a pioneer who had wandered into your home? Another possibility may be a person who had passed during a war and is a wandering ghost now, with no ties to any land or any home.
As he has not returned to you, I would say asking him is out of the question. It does make one wonder though, does it not?
Thank you.

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