I grew up with ghost stories. The most intriguing and touching tale involved my great, great, great-grandfather, Christian Klineck (shown below). Christian was a handsome young farmer in SE Iowa and the son of Czech immigrants. He enlisted in the Union Army to fight in the Civil War. Before he left, he promised his pregnant wife that he would return.

He was later killed at Champion Hill in the Battle of Vicksburg, in a bloody fight in which his Iowa batallion heriocally held the line against a brutal Rebel assault. Christian was badly wounded and died the next day.

As my family legend goes, that same day, Christian's wife gave birth to a baby boy (my mother's great, great grandfather). When she gave birth to their baby on the farm, alone, Christian appeared to her at the foot of her bed over the baby’s cradle. He had died that day far away in Mississippi. But he still kept his promise...

You may be interested in these related posts:

https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/civil-war-surgery 

https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/the-mysterious-angel-s-glow-at-shiloh

"Mysterious Angel Glow at Shiloh" was first published on Facebook on March 26, 2020 - 142,477 views / 2,865 likes / 2,193 shares

https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/the-gettysburg-address 

https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/arlington-cemetery-in-honor-of-our-veterans