November 5, 2009 - Shiloh National Military Park

Today was very special, as we toured nearby Shiloh National Military Park. The park spans a 4,000 acre site and commemorates the important Civil War engagement of April 6-7, 1862. Here, 65,000 Union soldiers and 44,000 Confederate troops fought a fierce battle.

The Shiloh National Cemetery, established in 1866 and situated high on the bluff overlooking Pittsburg Landing, is the final resting place for more 3,500 soldiers from this battle. All told, nearly 24,000 troops were killed, wounded or missing in this two-day battle, more casualties than America had suffered in all previous wars combined.

Overlooking the Tennessee River were graves of some of the Michigan soldiers who died here, with a cannon standing sentry.

We were surprised to see graves from World Wars I and II, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as soldiers’ spouses interred here.

The Grand Harbor dock master, who had arranged for our courtesy car, also provided maps and a CD audio guide for our tour, which was comprehensive and fascinating. The tour is a self-driving 10-mile tour around the park. The professionally narrated audio tour guide brought the horror of the battle to life for us.

Here we found the marker for “Richardson’s Battery”, of the Army of the Tennessee, designating its position for the battle. It was a part of Grant’s Last Line, the defensive line on the ridge that allowed a Union counterattack, which forced the eventual Confederate withdrawal. Many markers noted the locations of the encampments of various units, where 109,000 men ate, slept and waited in the cold rain and slimy mud for “the glory of battle.”

This memorial is in honor of the soldiers from Michigan who were involved in the battle. The scenery was eerily peaceful, and fall leaves crunched under our feet as we stopped the car at the fourteen designated tour sites.

This monument uses symbolism to convey the situation of the Confederate soldiers during the battle. The first day the Confederates seemed to have the upper hand, pushing back the Federal forces, and half the monument shows proud and strong waves of faces. The second day, the Union got the upper hand, and eventually prevailed, so the other half of the monument shows dejected faces, and fewer of them.

Well known among Civil War buffs is the Hornet’s Nest at Shiloh. The scene of heavy combat on both days of the battle, it happened in J.R. Duncan’s cotton field. The open field with adjacent thick oak woods allowed the Union forces to repel eight separate Confederate attacks before the Union position was overrun. Attesting to the fury of the fight, the Confederates named the location because the enemy’s bullets sounded like swarms of angry hornets. It is believed that the Union’s stand here bought General Grant enough time to establish a last line of defense that eventually repelled the Confederates.

Near this point on the Tennessee River is Pittsburg Landing. The Union Navy played an important role in the battle of Shiloh, as reinforcements were brought via the river, and artillery from Union gunboats pounded Confederate positions. In fact, control of the river played an important role in the entire Civil War, as it was a main conduit for supplies and troops. On a day as beautiful and peaceful as today, it was hard to imagine the horrors of those two days long ago. And yet, we thought perhaps we could barely hear distant cries of the wounded and dying…………..

Coincidentally within the Shiloh National Military Park are the Shiloh Indian Mounds. They are remnants of a prehistoric culture that reached the height of its influence about 800 years ago. These people – who may have been related to the Choctaw, Chickasaw or Creek Native Americans – built rectangular, flat-topped mounds to serve as platforms for their town’s important buildings. At this site, six platform mounds are surrounded by 12 individual house mounds. Other mounds served as burial sites for the town’s leaders and other important people.

This town and its mounds were the center of a society that occupied a twenty-mile-long stretch of the Tennessee River Valley. The residents of the society were farmers, and the society included at least seven towns, each with their own mounds. Excavations have shown that the layers comprising these mounds are distinctive in color, probably signifying each generation’s contribution to the structure.

We had a wonderful and educational experience today, one of the highlights of the trip.