
The Ghosts of Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Park
Posted: 01.25.2025 | Updated: 01.25.2025
On its surface, Sailor’s Creek may be laden with songbirds and butterflies. But beneath its facade, it harbors the scars of a violent past. Lost among the scenic trails of this pastoral State Park, are eerie secrets hidden in plain sight.
Located in Rice, Virginia, Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park contains dark echoes amidst its idyllic scenery and picturesque hiking trails. A close drive from Burkeville, Amelia, and Farmville, this park draws in many visitors but leaves many with lingering and unsettling feelings.
Read on to uncover the history behind this brutal final battle and what befell the soldiers who fought in it. All set to cross the threshold and see one of Virginia’s ghostly sites in person? Take a ghost tour with Richmond Ghosts!
Why Is Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Park Haunted?
Tucked away in the quiet hills of Virginia lies Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park. While many Virginia locales have connections to the Civil War, almost none are as historically prominent as this site.
Sailor’s Creek is where the last major battle of the Civil War in Virginia was fought. The bloody conflict tore through the landscape. Leaving a wake of death, loss, more than a few lost souls.
Bloody Beginnings: The Death Knell of the Confederate

Led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee, the Army of Northern Virginia made its weary way through Amelia County in early April 1865.
The exhausted troops pressed on through their fatigue intending to make their way to highly needed supplies in Farmville, Virginia. Unfortunately, many soldiers would never make it to this destination.
Several days of freezing rain had caused Little Sailor’s Creek to flood, allowing the Union army to overtake them. It was at Sailor’s Creek that Union forces cut off the Confederate army’s escape, ending in a bitter combat on April 6th, 1865.
As the Union attacked the rear guard, depleting them of any chance of retreat, an undeniable victory ensued. Around 7,700 combatants were captured along with eight Confederate generals.
Those who survived were the lucky ones, as many others were left wounded, missing, or dead when the sun set on what would come to be known by the Confederates as “Black Thursday.”
By nightfall, the fray had ended with a large portion of the Confederate rear guard having been captured and nearly a quarter of Lee’s troops either taken, injured, or deceased.
The nearby Hillsman House on the farmstead was modified into a Federal Army Field Hospital where it took in the wounded.
In a short 72 hours, General Lee would surrender what was left of his army to General Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse in reaction to this crippling blow, marking the end of the Civil War in Virginia.
The wounds left at Sailor’s Creek, however, would continue to haunt the landscape for decades to come.
The Haunting of Hillsman House
The vast majority of the mysterious activity at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield State Park manifests in this historic house. The Hillsman House, where Union and Confederate soldiers were both treated, was built in the 18th century by Moses Overton and inherited by his great-grandson, James Moses Hillsman.
Little did Overton know what his residence would eventually become home to once it was repurposed as a hospital. Around 161 Confederate and 358 Union soldiers were treated on the property, in the house, and even on the lawn.
These walls undoubtedly heard the last screams of many dying men, some who were undeniably forced to abandon their young lives too soon. The small structure, constructed with hand-hewn timbers and anvil-wrought nails, sits at just 1-½ stories tall.
Don’t let this quaint description fool you, though. The rustic appearance of the Hillsman House contrasts heavily with its grim past.
Visitors to the Hillsman House have reported paranormal activity in the form of ghostly footsteps, disembodied voices, and sounds of the battlefield outside. Blood stains left by Civil War soldiers can still be seen on the floors to this day: a silent and morbid reminder of this home’s bloodied history.
Ghostly Occurrences at Sailor’s Creek Battlefield Historic State Park

On the grounds of this National Historic Landmark, lies more than just ample scenery. Among the seven hiking trails, you will uncover historical markers dotting the sites.
Walk between the battle lines once fought by Union and Confederate soldiers—those who’ve done so have experienced distant cannon fire and spectral voices of soldier’s past. In the early misty hours or waning moments of dusk, some have even proclaimed to make out apparitions in soldier’s garb.
And it’s no wonder why. Civil War battles transpired on 80% of the land within this park. It’s hard to step on a patch of ground here that hasn’t been touched by trauma in some way or another.
While the park may be known for its trails and fauna during the bright shine of day, it tells a different story entirely as the sun shifts behind the clouds. Shadowy figures, a permeating sense of unease, and feelings of being watched have also been reported by guests.
It’s difficult to remember at times, when walking on the beautiful clover-padded grounds of Sailor’s Creek, that this soil was once soaked in blood and violence.
Macabre memories are not so simple to shed, and their ghostly impressions continue to inhabit the land.
Haunted Virginia
After a descendant of the Hillsman family donated their home and ten acres to the commonwealth. Then, in 1937, Sailor’s Creek officially became state park property. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
Since then, the Hillsman House has been privy to visits from paranormal investigators and researchers, seeking to explain its mysterious happenings.
Do the souls of the many lives lost that day still roam the battlefield in search of solace? Did the brutal battle that cut so many lives short leave a battalion of soldiers confused and adrift in the afterlife?
Or perhaps these strange and otherworldly occurrences are just a remnant of the residual energy left by such a savage event.
You’ll have to come and see for yourself.
To unearth further spectral tales on historical haunts and ghostly lore, check out our blog. To see more of these chilling Virginia locations yourself, book a haunted tour with Richmond Ghosts.
Sources:
- https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/sailors-creek
- https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-sailors-creek
- https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/sailors-creek
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/a-piece-of-preservation-at-sailor-s-creek-battlefield.htm
- https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/blog-posts/sailors-creek-battlefield-civil-war-battlefield-tours/
- https://www.virginia.org/listing/hillsman-house/6026
- https://www.explore.com/1470057/state-park-sailors-creek-battlefield-virginia-history-paranormal-activity
- https://paranormalunknown.com/sailors-creek-battlefield-where-civil-war-spirits-still-linger/
- https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/blog/sailors-creek-battlefield-history-and-the-connection-to-dr-moton
- https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state-parks/event?id=2024-02-13-11-10-09-574644-3fq
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