A MYSTERIOUS GUIDE
by Mary Crawford in Fate magazine
Steve Crawford was stationed at Seymour Johnson Air Base in North Carolina. He was 21 years old and newly married. He found a small apartment in Goldsboro, and he and his wife Karen settled in. They enjoyed taking short sightseeing tours whenever Steve was not on duty. During one of their excursions, they decided to visit the Bentonville Museum and Battlefield 10 miles away. It was springtime and the weather was fine.
Upon arrival, they were disappointed to find posters stating the site was closed for the season. They browsed through the visitor center and small self-service museum, then decided to walk around back to get a closer view of the museum building. This building was a colonial-style two-story house — what one would expect of an old Southern mansion, complete with slave quarters and such. As they drew closer to the house, a woman came down the walk to meet them. The lady's dress and mannerism certainly looked authentic to the Civil War era. She introduced herself (later, Steve could not remember her name) and asked whether she could be of any assistance. They said they had hoped to have a tour of the museum, but had seen the signs indicating that it was closed for the season. It was officially closed, she said, but she had some spare time and would be happy to serve as their guide.
Steve and Karen agreed that this lady was the most knowledgeable guide they had ever encountered. As she directed them through the old mansion, she told stories about each room — important people who had been guests there in better times and so on. As they approached the landing of the second floor, she turned into a huge room with a fireplace. "This room served as a hospital ward during the war." She described the men brought with mangled limbs and bodies. Some had amputations under the crudest conditions, only to waste away and die in that very room.
The tour lasted approximately two hours. Steve and Karen thanked the woman and left with a promise to return when the museum officially opened. Something about this tour stayed fresh in their minds. They learned that a reenactment of the Bentonville battle was scheduled to take place in a couple of months. They were anxious to return for that event.
On the day of the reenactment, they arose early and left at 6:30 A.M. Neither wanted to miss any of the action. The drive seemed to take forever, but the weather was lovely and they enjoyed looking at the landscape. Suddenly, they were shocked to see a cotton field that still had scrap cotton clinging to half-rotten burrs and stalks. This was highly unusual for the time of year.
Ideally a farmer would have had the land turned and replanted by this season. As they discussed this, they were in for another surprise. A whole regiment of troops was making its way across the cotton field. This would not have seemed strange, with the reenactment about to take place, had it not been for the sorry condition of this group. The men were a sad-looking bunch, weatherbeaten and clad in tatters and rags. The horses looked even worse. Steve remarked that such appearance would make the reenactment seem more real. But he wondered where they came up with such pitiful horses.
He pulled to the roadside to get a closer view. The troops looked straight ahead, determined to keep pressing on. Two women walked along with the troops carrying something — neither Steve nor Karen were sure what.
After the scrappy regiment passed, Steve and Karen drove on for another five miles before arriving at the site of the museum and battlefield. To their surprise, the actors all wore new uniforms, and the horses all looked sleek and well fed! They enjoyed the reenactment, then moved on to the museum for another tour.
When the guide arrived, it was a lady, but not the one who had given them their first tour. Steve and Karen agreed that this lady was not nearly as well informed as the first had been. As they walked through the house, they noted that all the doorways had red ropes and chains across their openings. When they asked about this, their guide explained that no one was allowed into any of the rooms. When they stated that an earlier guide had allowed them inside all the rooms, the guide said, "You must be mistaken. Since we opened this site, we have never allowed visitors into any room."
Intrigued by the unexplainable events that transpired at the Bentonville site, Steve visited the local library to do some research on the battle. He learned that the actual battle had not taken place at the site of the museum — it had been fought in a cotton field about five miles away. He also learned that the reenactment had been scheduled on the anniversary of the actual battle. Since he could not remember the name of his mystery guide, he was not able to determine where she fit into the scheme of things. Could she have been one of those ladies who accompanied the troops as they trudged into battle? Unfortunately, there is no way to know. But the memory of their visits to Bentonville is still vivid in the minds of Steve and Karen.
