The twelfth story in my book, Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, is a story about a ghost from the American Revolutionary War.

The story takes place in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1965, but it is about the ghost of a British soldier from the Battle of Guilford Courthouse which took place during the American Revolutionary War on March 15, 1781. It is my first (and possibly, last) ghost story.

This story was inspired by some unexplained happenings at the condominium my sister and another teacher shared near the Guilford Courthouse Battleground in the 1980s.

None of us had any particular interest in ghosts until the commode upstairs would flush when no one was up there and even guests on occasion had the feeling that someone had entered their bedroom when there was no one to be seen. A can randomly falling off a pantry shelf was also unsettling.

I hope my ghost story will make you a little more knowledgeable about the Battle of Guilford Courthouse which was one of the last battles before Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia.

There is a dog in the story for all you dog lovers.

Note: I made an error in the story. I originally had it set in the 1970s. At the last minute, I changed it to 1965. One of my 1970s characters called 9-1-1, and I forgot to change that when I shifted the story to 1965. It has been brought to my attention by an astute read and fellow writer that 9-1-1 emergency telephone service did not begin in the United States until 1968. My apologies. I try to have all details in my historical fiction writing to be accurate, but this one got past me.

If you missed any of my previous blog posts about the stories in Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories, here are the links: “The Tailor’s Shears” – Historical Short Story, “You Couldn’t Help But Like Bob” — historical short story, “To Run or Not to Run” – historical short story, “Making the Best of a Tragedy” – historical short story, “From Scotland to America” – historical short story, “Whom Can We Trust?” – historical short story, “Go fight, Johnny!” – historical short story, “A Letter from Sharpsburg” – historical fiction, “Slip Sliding Away” – historical short story, “Plott Hound Called Buddy” – historical short story, and “Secrets of a Foster Child” – historical short story.

Traveling Through History: A Collection of Historical Short Stories is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, or ask for it at your favorite independent bookstore. Stores that I know try to keep it in stock are Second Look Books in Harrisburg, NC; Highland Books in Brevard, NC; and Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, NC.

I thank those stores and I thank you for supporting my writing!

Janet

The government should be afraid of its citizens, not the other way around.