History & local legend
The Hummelbaugh farmhouse at Gettysburg is associated with Confederate General William Barksdale, who was brought there after being wounded in the July 1863 battle. He died and was temporarily buried on the property. A local legend concerns the hunting dog that supposedly accompanied his widow when she came to recover his body for burial in Mississippi.
According to the story, the dog found Barksdale’s grave and lay beside it, howling. Even after the remains were removed and placed on a wagon, the animal would not leave. Neighbors offered food and tried to take it in, but it continued to guard the empty grave and eventually died there.
In Troy Taylor’s retelling of the Hummelbaugh tradition, the dog’s mourning continues after death. Unexplained howling heard around the farm on July nights is attributed to the animal still waiting for its master.
