The South is rich in our Nation’s heritage. We knew we had missed many treasures in our quest to beat the locks. Plus, we figured we could always stop on our return to Knoxville. However, since we were now on the Tenn-Tom, and because beating the lock closures was no longer a possibility, that sentiment no longer existed. It was time to think about what we were missing – and do something about it!
While waiting for parts and repair in Iuka at Safe Harbor, we went to Shiloh in Shiloh, Mississippi – as in The Battle of Shiloh.
The site is 19 miles from the Marina and our first real opportunity on our trip to reacquaint ourselves with the Civil War history we learned in high school.
More properly known as Shiloh National Military Park, it is 6 ¼ square miles, aggregated through some 27 purchases to tell the tale of more than 110,000 combatants meeting on this battlefield in the dense hilly woods and infrequent open fields on and near the shores of the Tennessee River.
It was a battle to control the strategic intersection of two railroads in Corinth, MS.
The Memphis & Charleston connected the Atlantic with the Mississippi River, while the Mobile & Ohio connected the Gulf with the Ohio River near Cairo, IL. These supply lines were essential to the Confederate movement of raw materials, supplies, and troops in the then Western Theatre of the Civil War
(Next September we will pass by Cairo as we turn off the Mississippi onto the Ohio on our way home.)
Our first stop on the property was the Visitor Center. Along with the expected static displays of the movements of the battle and the featured quotes from Soldiers and Generals, we were treated to a dramatic film of the battle, narrated to give us the best possible understanding of the actions and the participants.
After a lifetime of reading of the war, and numerous PBS special presentations, we were both left stunned and speechless at the end of the movie. It is the best dramatic portrayal of a Civil War conflict we have seen. It brought you into the experience of the senior and junior soldiers, the critical decisions of their leaders, their fatigue, fear, bravery, and courage under extraordinary circumstances.
The Union wanted to cut off the Confederate access to the northern and western regions. The Confederates wanted to retain control of Corinth and the critical railroads, and also to crush the Union army. Each thought this would bring a shorter close to the war, on their terms.
Unfortunately, neither would realize these goals. Both found, to their dismay, the cost of this war would exceed all past experience. The casualties of this war were greater than all previous US conflicts, combined. It was at that time the greatest battle cost on the North American continent.
The 12 mile driving self-tour was fascinating. It is one of the best documented battle grounds in our national park system. There are dozens of plaques across the whole park, denoting specific events performed by individuals and units. This detailed documentation is only possible due to the survivors on both sides, together walking the land, and their observations, memories, and comments being recorded for history. Being able to see the unbelievably dense forest, the short sightlines and experiencing the hilly terrain with crossing streams, forces upon one the realization of the hazards and challenges these men faced.
It is humbling to us in our contested time, to see the unity of the veterans, from both sides of this battle, after the war acting to preserve this ground as a military burial site and as a testament to what they individually and collectively did, as they saw their duty. They united to preserve a record of the action for future generations.
They did their duty. Pray we can do ours.
The Burial Grounds
As the victor, the Union Army took on the responsibility of burying the dead from both sides. While they did not bury the soldiers from the two sides in the same large plots, some of the plots were actually very close to each other. At some point after the war, but before the monument was designed, the United States created a National Cemetery and reinterred the Union deceased there. When the Confederate participants had the opportunity to reinter their soldiers, they chose not to. Rather, they identified the burial grounds (that they could find) by outlining the sites with stone and canon balls and placing a headstone in honor of the fallen warriors.
Both burial grounds are quite moving.
State Memorials
Although not all States have Memorials in the Site, these are ones we found.
Battlefield Signage
Battlefield movement from the two-day siege was placed throughout the site. Shapes, colors and direction of the signs denoted Camps (square sides with triangle top), Day 1 movement (rectangular with rounded corners), Day 2 movement (oval) of the Confederate States (red), Union States (blue) and the late addition of the troops from the Ohio Company (yellow). The direction one faces while reading the signs is the direction the troops were facing.
ONLY REMAINING ORIGINAL STRUCTURE
The Battle of Shiloh took place among family homes and farms. The only remaining structure is this house. The house which originally stood on this spot, the Cotton Field and Peach Orchard belonging to a widow, Sarah Bell, was lost to the Battle. Her son moved the William Manse George Cabin to this family site after the battle, as it was still standing.
