Shiloh National Battlefield

Up and on the road by 7:30 a.m.  We had lots to do and see today.  Our  first stop was an auto parts store because we had to replace our RV-ready lights connector.  Mission accomplished so we drove to Shiloh National Military Park.  We enjoyed the driving tour which took us about three hours but we could have stayed longer.  The park is very nice with lots of signs explaining the battlefield and troop movements, etc.

Just inside the park we spotted this group of deer.  As we drove the roads of the park, we saw other deer.

We looked through the interpretative section of the visitor's center.  It had lots of interesting photos and displays.  One of the displays was about the role of the drummer boys during the Civil War.  Some, like this boy, were as young as 10 years old.  That is just one year older than Keegan.  This boy took his military duty serious because he continued in the military obtaining the rank of general.  The drum was found on the battlefield.  It is not know who the owner was.  I would say that young man didn't survive the battle.   

Throughout the battlefield, huge monuments to the different states that fought at Shiloh.
Some were very elaborate, others more simple.  We could not find one for Illinois although there were several Illinois units in the battle. 

This was the Confederate Monument.  Each figure represents something specific of the battle.  The center statue is a woman who represents the Confederacy.  On one side of her is a statue representing darkness and the other side a statue representing death.  The south lost the battle of Shiloh because in the darkness, the Union was able to receive reinforcements that helped defeat the South.  The death represents the death of General Johnson who was over the Confederate forces there.  The center woman is handing the wreath of victory to one of the side statues.

The North under the command of General Grant were camped around the Shiloh Church when early in the morning of April 6, they were attached by the Confederate army.  When darkness came, the Confederates had pushed the Northern Army back.  Darkness came and the North received reinforcements and April 7, they pushed the Confederates  back to the original battle lines.  Realizing defeat was imminent, the Confederates retreated to Corinth, Mississippi.

This is a reproduction of the original church built in 1851.  It was destroyed in the battle but the congregation rebuilt it and it still holds services today.

The church had a cemetery attached.  I came across this marker.  People in the south still regard the Confederacy as honorable.  Politically correct police may try to remove all history of the Civil War and Confederacy but they can't remove all knowledge and feelings about it from the hearts of people.

There were five mass burial trenches on the battlefield.  After the end of the battle, the Union soldiers buried the dead Confederates in these mass graves.   In 1866 workers disinterred the dead from 156 locations on the battlefield and 565 locations along the Tennessee River and reburied them in a National Cemetery attached to the battlefield.  This indicates one of the burial trenches.

This monument is to honor General Johnston who was killed at the battle.

This pond is called"Bloody Pond" because both sides used it for water and the blood from both men and horses turned the water of the pond red.

Also on the grounds of Shiloh is Shiloh Indian Mounds. Native Americans  lived in this area 800 to 1500 A.D.  Time constraints caused us to bypass a trail that led through this village.  The 28th Illinois Infantry used one of the mounds to bury its dead.  In later years, those men were re-interned elsewhere.

The Tennessee River forms the eastern boundary of the battlefield.  The North used  the river to bring in reinforcements to the battle during the night.  The gunboats Tyler and Lexington were also anchored in the river providing bombardment support.  It is a beautiful blue river.

This is the only monument we could find for the State of Illinois.  It marks the location of a battery of Illinois troops.

After touring Shiloh we drove through the town of Adamsville and were surprised to learn it is where Buford Pusser lived  If you have ever seen the movie "Walking Tall" you might recognize the name.  He was the sheriff of McNairy County Tennessee.  He was a one-man war on moonshining, prostitution, gambling, and other vices in the county.  

Again, time constraints kept us from visiting the museum.

Our last stop of the day was a visit to Carol's twin sister Carolyn and her daughter Alana.  They live in Jackson which is about 30 miles from where we are camped.  It was good to catch up with she and Alana.

We got back to camp and Sandy at 5:30.  We had been gone 10 hours and Sandy was happy to see us and to take her evening walk.  Her walks are getting shorter and shorter because of the physical problems she is having.  I told her that for the next two days she will not have to stay in the camper without us because we will be driving.  No more sightseeing until we get to Florida.