Highland Road Confederate Ghosts

A stretch of road south of LSU's campus where the spirits of Civil War soldiers make their presence known, particularly in late September and early October around the anniversary of significant battles.

Highland Road in Baton Rouge has been the site of recurring ghost sightings for decades, with witnesses reporting Confederate soldiers walking along or crossing the road in the stretch between Lee Drive and Gardere Lane, near LSU's campus. The apparitions are most frequently seen in late September and early October, appearing as ragged, injured men in tattered gray uniforms who seem entirely unaware of the modern traffic flowing around them.

The most dramatic documented incident occurred around 1999 or 2000, when multiple drivers called the Baton Rouge police after spotting a filthy, bleeding young man wearing a Confederate uniform and carrying a rifle staggering across the busy intersection of Lee Drive and Highland Road at approximately five in the evening. The sighting was credible enough that the police department dispatched an officer to investigate. A thorough search of the area turned up no one. Highland Road has generated so many reports of Civil War soldier sightings over the years that law enforcement has become familiar with the phenomenon, even if they cannot explain it.

The historical basis for these hauntings lies in the Battle of Baton Rouge, fought on August 5, 1862, when Confederate Major General John C. Breckinridge attempted to recapture the Louisiana capital from Union forces. Breckinridge had advanced west from Camp Moore, but half his troops fell ill with fever during the march, leaving him only twenty-six hundred men for the assault. The fighting was bitter and bloody, with the heaviest combat taking place from Greenwell Springs Road to Magnolia Cemetery and the area of what is now Baton Rouge National Cemetery along Florida Street. Union Brigadier General Thomas Williams was killed in action during the engagement. The Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas arrived to provide naval support but suffered engine failure four miles above the city, and her commander ordered her set ablaze to prevent capture. Without naval support, Breckinridge was forced to withdraw, and the Union retained control of the city.

The soldiers who appear on Highland Road are described as walking in small groups, their uniforms torn and stained, their expressions weary and haunted. Witnesses say they move with the exhausted shuffle of men who have been marching for days, seemingly replaying their final approach to or retreat from the battlefield. They cross the road without looking at oncoming vehicles, pass through fences and hedges, and fade from view after a few moments. The nearby Highland Road Cemetery, established in 1813 as Baton Rouge's oldest surviving burial ground, adds to the area's spectral atmosphere. Visitors to the cemetery have reported seeing silvery silhouettes gliding among the headstones, lantern-like lights hovering along an old wagon path, and mysterious drumbeats that lead toward the bluff's edge before falling silent. Local paranormal investigation groups including Louisiana Spirits have conducted investigations in the area and logged evidence. The Confederate ghosts of Highland Road remain among Baton Rouge's most persistent and widely witnessed hauntings.