WILDER TOWER <> Chickamauga Battlefield

This is Wilder Tower, an 85 foot high monument in Chickamauga Battlefield in Chickamauga, GA, the oldest military park in U.S. History. Chickamauga was one of the most bloodiest battles in the Civil War, and there have been numerous unexplained happenings in this battlefield, especially around Wilder Tower, including suicide and near death. Chickamauga in the Cherokee language means 'River of Death', and I venture to say, the occurrences here precedes its name. I happened to visit Wilder Tower in the evening, at dusk, as the sun was rapidly setting. I was the only one around, all except for about five deer grazing in the field, and a deep chill was in the air. They close the park around sundown, and I was lucky to capture the photographs, before the park ranger had closed the door to Wilder Tower for the night. After you read these reports, it'll come very clear why they close the rod iron door to Wilder Tower at sundown. These reports have been varified from various news sources, but it isn't for the faint of heart, so a small warning: the details are DISTURBING!
 One strange incident to occur at Wilder Tower, was in 1976, the year that marked the bicentennial of the battle. Sixty seven years prior to that in 1903, relics and souvenirs of the Civil War had been placed inside the cornerstone structure of the tower, sealed off to all until it was to be reopened for the bicentennial. When they ventured inside to open the stone, oddly enough, all of the contents had vanished! The stone showed no sign of disturbance, but the items had completely disappeared!
One man had a life altering terrifying experience in 1970.The young man decided to climb the tower after dark. As I had said, they close the tower at dark, but this didn’t stop the man, as he instead climbed the lightning rod which was fixed the back of the tower. He then slipped into a gun slot which was placed about 14 feet off the ground. He went inside and ran up the steps to the top, where he called to his friends, who were about 50 feet away drinking beer. Suddenly, the young people outside heard a scream from inside of the tower. Panicked the boy ran down the winding staircase and quickly jumped out of the small window from which he had entered the tower.... or so he thought. Instead, he fell about 25 feet onto solid concrete and although he survived, was paralyzed for the rest of his life. Who, or what do you think made that scream?
A tragic suicide happened more recently back in 2004. I have included the news paper article. Please click to enlarge, and read.
There have been other eerie and haunting occurrences in Chickamauga, and I plan to update this blog with more soon, so check back from time to time.