Have You Ever Visited This Haunted South Carolina State Park

It is said that since the Battle of Rivers Bridge of 1865, every February from the 2nd to the 4th you will experience continuous rain at the battleground site. Between these three days, there is a single night where the battle will start again, as if in a time loop. Nineteen different witnesses have heard screaming, gunfire, and cannons firing on this mysterious night - Right at 10:00 PM. The 150-year-old battle went from February 2nd to the 3rd, leaving witnesses scratching their heads.

River's BridgePhoto byTrip Advisor

One would think that perhaps it’s just the Civil War reenactors wrapping some scenes up late. However, this is not the case. Many witnesses include the reenactors themselves, overhearing the battle continuing without them. Sounds of the fighting will continue for ninety minutes. And then it stops just as fast as it started.

The State Historic Site is at 325 State Park Road, in Ehrhardt, South Carolina. The battle was bloody and included fifty-one casualties from both sides. Out of the fifty-one, only eight Confederate soldiers died during the fight. The Union army ended up with forty-three dead and two hundred and six wounded. The Confederate Army only experienced forty-five of their soldiers wounded in the battle. The losses of the Union army were due to much of the fighting happening in the swamps of the Salkehatchie River, which was guarded by 1,500 Confederate soldiers protected by earthworks and armed with two cannons. It was their last line of defense.

Despite the Union’s casualties, it was far from a debacle. The Illinois and the 32nd Wisconsin Infantry soldiers overwhelmed the Confederacy, causing them to retreat earlier in the fight. They gave up sixteen bridges across the Salkehatchie River, which is what ultimately destroyed any chance of the Confederacy’s victory. The Union army pushed forward, seizing the works once the Confederate army left behind River’s Bridge and everything that went with it. This site was one of the Confederacy’s last stands against General William T. Sherman’s takeover of the South.

The battleground site has memorial grounds for the Confederate soldiers who were slain, and a yearly memorial service has been held for them since 1876. The entire Civil War battlefield has been preserved, which makes it the only state park to have done so in the state of South Carolina. The battleground is also on the National Registry of Historical Places.

It’s a good thing that the battlefield was preserved. Ghosts are not a fan of their items being moved about. Be sure to leave everything intact if you decide to come here - Down to the last pebble. God forbid a Civil War veteran comes to visit you.

Written By: Izzy

Sources: https://southcarolinaparks.com/rivers-bridge

Mysterious South Carolina - By Sherman Carmichael