CHAPTER 12
“Calvin S. Pettibone was known for two things by all those who were acquainted with him.
“His luxurious head of coal black hair, and his abiding hatred for everything the Union stood for.
“A select few, including Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, also knew him for another attribute, one as a very accomplished practitioner of the dark arts.
“It was this quality that had placed Pettibone and his men on the road to Gettysburg in late June 1863. He and his small group had been sent to shift the odds toward the Confederacy in an approaching battle. General Lee felt that a decisive victory here would be critical to winning the war.
“Pettibone’s group of marauders had taken the name Red Robes, and they were a clandestine unit, one whose very purpose was to use their occult skills as a force multiplier.
“Late in the evening of June 30th, as Pettibone and his group of eight riders made their way through the rolling hills and open fields, they could see the smudges of black smoke carried on the wind from the campsites of the gathering troops. The group travelled in silence, their horses following in an orderly procession behind Lucifer, the black stallion that Pettibone sat upon.
“The group of eight followed, riding behind him in procession, and all seated on dappled greys, each faster than the next; but none that could match Lucifer’s speed. While the riders were clearly identifiable as Virginian confederate soldiers from their uniforms, a closer inspection would reveal several small modifications to their dress.
“Unnoticeable to the casual observer, the buttons on their shirts featured distinct sigils, all identifying them as members of a very select, and equally secret fraternity. Each rider wore a gray cloak, longer than the standard mantles of the day, with the interior linings of the coats declared in a dark, crimson red.
“Most thought that Pettibone and his Red Robes were more legend than fact, nothing more than boogey men intended to scare runaway slaves. They were said to never leave any survivors in their encounters, making any verifiable evidence of their existence very difficult.
“But no legend or ghost story this. They were there, that evening, in 1863.