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Cold Harbor

C

cold bore

New Member
When I was 4 years old I used to tell my mother and grandmother that I was a grown up before I was a child. I told them I used to ride a horse.

As a kid I always had an interest in the American Civil War era. There was always something that pulled me unaturally to that time.

When I was almost 18 I would have a recurring nightmare. I would wake up in the middle of the night scared to death, walking the house in a semi sleep state,groaning and crying. It would take me 10-15 minutes to fully wake up, not really knowing where I was. Ive had the dream a few times as an adult as well...just not with the same frequency or intensity.

If you care to hear it, here it is:

In my dream I come fully to on a battlefield with dead and dying comrades around me. They are wearing dark blue jackets and light blue pants. (Union Army) These are guys I know. There is gunfire and explosions happenning. Its very loud and frightening.

Im pinned to the ground between my torso and mid thigh area. Im hurting really bad there and am trying to get out from whatever is on top of me. There are dead soldiers and dead horses. I assume a horse (or my horse) fell on me and died. There are wounded comrades around me, crying and begging for help.

Behind where we came from are a set of two rolling hills with a sort of valley in between them. On the second hill I can see the US flag and what I assume are high ranking officers on their horses. These are our leaders and I cuss and scream at them and swear I will kill them if I get out of this. I hate them more than the enemy at this point. Of course they cant hear me. They are too far away. I cant make out their faces.

Also going through my head I am thinking that hell has descended on the earth. I remember thinking not the old saying "war is hell"...but was thinking it actually was hell...the real hell. Thats how bad the dream was.

At some point I am able to get out from under whats crushing me and crawl with my arms only since my legs/torso area is hurt. At some point, two guys I know (union soldiers but older and bigger than me, both dark hair and beards) grab me under the arms and run with me away from the front lines. I am in and out of conciousness and am seeing a blur at my feet...grass and ground wizzing past my feet. (I am being carried) They are telling me Ill be alright. I can tell they are running.

Heres what I suspect:

I was a young man and enlisted/was drafted at the very end of the war. This battle was Cold Harbor. I have always been pulled toward that name and what occurred there. It was a horrible experience for the union army...a one sided massacre. I believe I was part of a new idea at that time, mounted rifles. Different than conventional cavalry..these guys are infantry mounted on horses to move quickly where the commander wanted them to go. I have a feeling we were shot up by a foward confederate unit, before we arrived at the actual front line to dismount horses.

I also believe that I recovered and stayed in the army. Something tells me I was posted in possibly Kansas, became an officer and eventually promoted to Captain but was not involved in the Indian Wars, per se. I believe I must have been posted at a peaceful fort.
 
This was absolutely chilling. Thank you for sharing.


I spent a whole day once wandering around the Gettysburg battlefield and it had the most haunting and sad feel to it. Probably most of the battlefields do.
 
This sounds to me like it IS a past life memory. Very detailed. Did you feel like you could reach out and touch what you were seeing? Were you seeing yourself from outside of your body or were you looking through his eyes? Have you been keeping a journal? You should start writing these down. Have you had any other dreams or flashbacks? Do you have any phobias or other problems relating to this past life?
 
argonne1918 said:
This sounds to me like it IS a past life memory. Very detailed. Did you feel like you could reach out and touch what you were seeing? Were you seeing yourself from outside of your body or were you looking through his eyes? Have you been keeping a journal? You should start writing these down. Have you had any other dreams or flashbacks? Do you have any phobias or other problems relating to this past life?
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In the dream I was seeing it through my own eyes, first person. No I have not kept a journal.


Ive had other dreams and flashbacks. Two other lives to be exact. I might post about them sometime. They are not as detailed, although one a bit more than the other.


Phobias. Aside from heights, the one thing that gives me the creeps is the thought of being peirced through the body with something sharp. Most soldiers of that era were terrified of bayonet fighting. It was something that was trained on it quite a bit.


The army still practices bayonet fighting. When I was in the service (this life) we fought with padded "pugil sticks" that simulate bayonet fighting. We only did 2 days of it. I was only average at all the other skills the army taught. But at bayonet fighting, I was head and shoulders above the others. It was natural to me. All of the movements and blocks and such just seemed to flow. It became a game at one point and the drill sgts started putting multiple opponents against me until there was so many (5 at one point) that I couldnt win. I thought that was interesting.


Also Ive aquired quite an interest in muzzleloading firearms. (the ones of that era) They are complicated and difficult to load compared to todays technology. I can load and fire just about any muzzleloader the first time I handle it, as long as I know the powder load.


Anyway, I thought that might be found interesting.
 
One more thing possibly interesting. Not a phobia but an ever present concern.


Im a horse owner. One thing I find myself always being concerned of is being pinned or crushed by my horse if he falls. Which is stupid because horses hardly fall with a rider. Other horse owners I know dont seem to worry about this, really. Most owners are concerned with the animal spooking.


Last year my gelding tripped and fell with me at a walk out on a trail. (he is clumsy) Luckily I wasnt hurt but it scared the crud out of me.
 
cold bore said:
Phobias. Aside from heights, the one thing that gives me the creeps is the thought of being pierced through the body with something sharp. Most soldiers of that era were terrified of bayonet fighting. It was something that was trained on quite a bit.


The army still practices bayonet fighting. When I was in the service (this life) we fought with padded "pugil sticks" that simulate bayonet fighting. We only did 2 days of it. I was only average at all the other skills the army taught. But at bayonet fighting, I was head and shoulders above the others. It was natural to me. All of the movements and blocks and such just seemed to flow. It became a game at one point and the drill Sgts started putting multiple opponents against me until there was so many (5 at one point) that I couldn't win. I thought that was interesting.


Also I've acquired quite an interest in muzzle-loading firearms. (The ones of that era). They are complicated and difficult to load compared to today's technology. I can load and fire just about any muzzle-loader the first time I handle it, as long as I know the powder load.
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These are important clues. Are you in the U.S.? Do you ever go to Civil War re-enactments? If so, how did you feel? I attended a Memorial Day ceremony last week at an old cemetery near Pasadena, California. Because there are so many Civil War veterans buried there they have a Civil War memorial service there every year, with people in costume, muzzle loading rifle salute, etc. The veterans moved to the Pasadena area starting about 1880.
 
cold bore said:
I'm a horse owner. One thing I find myself always being concerned of is being pinned or crushed by my horse if he falls. Which is stupid because horses hardly fall with a rider. Other horse owners I know don't seem to worry about this, really. Most owners are concerned with the animal spooking.
Last year my gelding tripped and fell with me at a walk out on a trail. (he is clumsy) Luckily I wasn't hurt but it scared the crud out of me.
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Most people today are unaware that riding horses can be dangerous. Look what happened to Christopher Reeve. BUT, you still have that memory of what happened to you long ago. Several years ago an owner of a local riding stable was killed when a horse kicked him in the head.
 
To the OP, I'm not sure if you knew this, but you posted during the 149th anniversary of the Battle of Cold Harbor. It lasted from May 31 to June 12, 1864.


The title of this thread caught my eye immediately. I grew up in Virginia, and my grandmother lived off Cold Harbor Road, just a couple of miles from the battlefield. About ten years ago, I rented a house within walking distance of the battlefield. To me, that area has a sad, dark feeling to it. The house I rented was haunted, and I hated being there alone. I remember hearing someone knocking on my front door one night. I went to the door and no one was there. So, I walked back upstairs to my bedroom, and when I got to the bedroom door, it slammed in my face. That kind of thing happened frequently, and I always felt like I was being watched. I've always believed there are many lost, trapped souls wandering those battlefields and the houses close to them.


Anyway, just thought I would share that. I love history and I love haunted places, so growing up in Richmond was a treat for me. The feeling I always got from the battlefields was unsettling. There was so much suffering and misery in those places, but the history is fascinating. I don't think you mentioned where you live, but if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend visiting Richmond and touring all the historic Civil War sites. The whole area was a big battleground, since it was the Capital of the Confederacy.


Thanks for sharing your very interesting past life dreams/memories, cold bore.
 
Thank you for posting cold bore...as others have said, your impressions have the stamp of past life memories and would be very exciting to research. And the fact that your initial post was made on the anniversary of the battle in which it appears you took part is no coincidence. I look forward to reading more when you care to share it.
 
seagreen said:
I love history and I love haunted places, so growing up in Richmond was a treat for me. The feeling I always got from the battlefields was unsettling. There was so much suffering and misery in those places, but the history is fascinating. I don't think you mentioned where you live, but if you ever get a chance, I highly recommend visiting Richmond and touring all the historic Civil War sites. The whole area was a big battleground, since it was the Capital of the Confederacy.
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Pennsylvania is supposed to be the most haunted state, especially the battlefields and Bucks county.
 
Cold Bore, your memories carried me right back to the Civil War. I have wandered the battle fields at Vicksburg, and Stone Mountain. There are dead men behind every rock. Your feelings about that battle are still very strong, and very genuine. Thank you for sharing them.
 
Thank you for sharing your memories. I too, have had dreams of the Civil War, and your description made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I do hope you are writing these dreams down! Have you had any other memories?
 
Forgive me for taking so long to reply.


Someone mentioned that the post date was during the anniversary of the battle. I just realized that when I logged on today. Wow.


One question was if I have participated in reenactments. Yes, once and felt right at home there.


I have some other memories about a couple other lives. Apparently Im caught in a bad cycle of being a soldier, life to life. The few detailed memories are traumatic ones: 2 that deal with warfare and 1 where I left to be a soldier and hurt my family a great deal because of that selfish decision.


I feel like Im making better decisions this time around and am growing as a person :)


Maybe Ill post on them sometime.


Thank you and my best to all.
 
cold bore said:
One question was if I have participated in reenactments. Yes, once and felt right at home there.
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I think ALL reenactors are remembering a significant past life, whether they are aware of it or not.
 
My thought about reenactments is that there seems to be a basic need some people have to repeat an event until they "get it right." It might be why we reincarnate. Alternative history fiction could be related to this phenomenon also - perhaps the author lived in the original time period, and the soul subconsciously wants things to turn out differently.
 
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