Confederate Officer On Horseback

Being a native Virginian in Civil War country, I have been lucky to have a few encounters and this is my favourite.

It was the fall of 1988; I was driving in the northern part of Fauquier County Virginia approx. 45 minutes outside of Upper vile. I was in a very remote area where the hills rolled gently and there were no homes, barns, fences, riding trails or other motorist. I was really enjoying the scenery when I drove around a curve and there on the left side of the road about half a mile ahead was a horse with a rider. This is pretty common in Fauquier County but this was a bit different. Again, I was in the middle of nowhere. Once I drove closer to the horse and rider, I noticed what the gentleman was wearing, a full Confederate uniform with sleeve markings indicating a high rank officer. His uniform consisted of the grey in colour pants, jacket, and full belt dressing with sword, a side arm, black hat, riding gloves and riding boots. As I drove past slowly, I waved and he tilted his hat. I will never forget the expression on his face. It was one of confusion and interest.

Being a Civil War enthusiast, I was very surprised and enjoyed the sight. This person and his horse seemed as real as I am. I could not understand why someone would be dressed in this fashion in the middle of nowhere. He appeared to be dirty enough for me to notice from about 20 feet away. His beard looked unkept and his hair was longer than the hat would cover. That's when I decided it must be a ghost. This is the only thing that is logical to me. Once I found a place to make a u-turn, I drove back and there was no trace of the person.

Please give me your opinions and views on this sighting. This occurred in the middle of the week, my day off at the time was Wednesday. Weather was cool and clear.