Racked by disease, reportedly haunted,
Camp Beauregard now just a monument

Long gone and largely forgotten, Camp Beauregard now is identified by a stone monument covering a mass grave.

But, from September 1861 to March 1862, it was a bustling Civil War camp inhabited by some 6,000 Confederate soldiers whose purpose was to protect the right flank of their Western Kentucky garrison at Columbus as well as the railroad from Paducah to Memphis.

Named in honor of Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, the Graves County encampment near Water Valley was established as a massive training base, but it quickly became disease ridden and had to be destroyed.

The diseases ranged from cerebrospinal meningitis, pneumonia and typhoid fever with poor weather and lack of sufficient supplies for the troops contributing to the situation and resulting in some 1,500 deaths. In a single day, 75 cases of typhoid and pneumonia were reported. Under the direction of Col. Thomas Logwood of the 27th Tennessee Regiment, the camp was abandoned in February 1862 and burned down the following month. Union forces captured the site shortly after the abandonment.

No actual battles were fought at Beauregard, but scouting parties engaged in minor skirmishes.

The camp now is identified by a monument inside a fenced-in cemetery atop a large hill. It’s believed that as many as 1,200 soldiers are buried under the monument. At one time, a tombstone marked the grave of a woman buried on the outside of the fence. The headstone,  which was vandalized in the early 1900s, reportedly had the word “Witch” carved into it. The stone, however, has been removed and the grave now is unmarked.

The former stone and grave apparently are linked with a cemetery that is believed by some to be haunted. Believers note that paranormal activity varies throughout the year, with most activity occurring from late November until March.

One person explains he has seen lights dancing on some of the headstones and seeing various dark figures running through the graves only to vanish. There’s also a black beast-like figure that supposedly will chase visitors in an attempt to make them leave.

One night, two individuals said the “beast” followed them for several miles before flooding their car with an overwhelming scent of cinnamon before vanishing. Also, there are reports of people hearing combat sounds, including what has been described as the sound of sabers clashing.

In 1909, the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a small monument dedicated to the fallen soldiers at the site entrance and later an 11-foot monument within the cemetery. The larger monument was increased in 1930 with the addition of a concrete base.

On July 17, 1997, the Camp Beauregard Memorial was one of 60 different monuments related to the Civil War in Kentucky placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two other monuments in Mayfield also are on the list.