Saturday, July 5, 2008, 2:30 a.m. - Just off the private, employee-only, exit of the lobby, there is a covered breezeway approximately 30 feet in length that runs between the lobby building and the north wing of the hotel.
It was very warm in the lobby building, despite the air conditioning, and I decided to step outside to test the air temperature. As soon as I stepped outside into the breezeway, a strong aroma hit me. It smelled exactly like the smoke that comes from a campfire. It was overpowering.
I walked up and down the length of the breezeway and back around to the front of the hotel trying to locate the source of the strong odor. The aroma totally permeated the entire area. I looked out at the battlefield expecting to see campfires, but there was nothing at all glowing to indicate a fire of some kind. There wasn't a breeze to be found. The aroma remained for about five minutes and then completely disappeared without a trace.
I have never smelled this distinct aroma in this particular area before this night. I began to think there might be a campfire somewhere close to us, but there are no campgrounds anywhere near the hotel. There have been, however, many reports of this occurring on the battlefield itself.
Considering the fact that we have what was General Robert E. Lee's Headquarters on our property, and the fact that the General's Headquarters was surrounded by troops, day and night, during those three days in 1863, I wasn't too surprised that I should smell what I was thinking of as "phantom campfire smoke."
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