During the American Civil War, empty fields along the East Coast became a bloody battleground where the North and South clashed. It is estimated that 620,000 people were killed during this four-year war. Though not all of these 620,000 people were soldiers. Unfortunately, many of them happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, including Dr. James Harvey Baker.
Dr. Baker was very well known throughout Knoxville for his work as a physician. In 1930, Dr. Baker started construction on his home in Knoxville, Tennessee, having no idea this would put him in line with angry union soldiers. Dr. Baker and his son, Abner, lived in this house together, where he served the locals whether they were fighting in the war or not. The same house where Dr. Baker saved many lives is the same place his own would end.
It said that Dr. Baker was helping a wounded Confederate soldier when, in the middle of his examination, Union soldiers forced their way into his home and shot him, killing him in the process. Dr. Baker’s death was a needless one, but it was just the beginning of a series of unfortunate events that made the Baker-Peters house one of Knoxville‘s most haunted locations.
Let’s take a step back and have a more grounded understanding of the situation. While Dr. Baker remained at the home in Knoxville, his son Abner joined the confederacy as a private at only 19 years old. While Abner was serving, he was told about his father‘s murder, and fueled with a hatred for the North, he sought revenge.
In 1865, he returned from the war and found a victim, one who was seemingly not involved in his father‘s murder. William Hall was a clerk at the court in downtown Knoxville. Some reports say that these two gentlemen knew each other, while others say that Hall was absolutely not involved in Abner‘s father‘s murder. Whatever the reason may be, that day at the end of their interaction, Abner shot and killed Hall. Abner could not rejoice in his satisfaction for vengeance for long, as he was immediately arrested and jailed.
Abner’s killing sparked outrage against Unionists, though he was behind protective bars of his Knoxville cell; these Unionists joined together to storm the building where Abner was jailed and pulled him to the street. It was then that Abner was hanged from a tree by the Unionists. After all of this, it is said that in the Baker-Peters house, both Dr. Baker and his son have become permanent residents after death. The house has changed hands many different times, but there are still remnants of the Bakers.
