Published: June 04, 2009 10:36 am      

Remembering Shiloh

By Dave Zuchowski

CNHI News Service



Civil War buffs know that the battle of Shiloh, Tenn., was the second bloodiest multiple-day battle of the war.

On April 6 and 7, 1862, two massive armies totaling more than 100,000 soldiers converged on an area in the Tennessee River Valley northwest of the town of Corinth, Miss.

Because it was the crossing point of two of the South’s most important north-south and east-west railroads, Corinth was considered by the Union as the second-most strategic military objective after Richmond, the Confederate capital. The battle there claimed 23,746 lives.

Today, Shiloh Battlefield is a 4,200-acre site administered by the National Park Service. It includes a 9 1/2 mile auto route with stops at such major landmarks as the Bloody Pond, Hornet’s Nest, a replica of Shiloh Church and the death site of Confederate Gen. Albert Johnson.

“When Johnson’s body was taken back to Corinth, residents took three locks of his hair,” said park ranger Tom Parson, who led my tour. “One was sent to his widow, another went into the Confederate monument on the battlefield and a third was placed in the cornerstone of the Corinth courthouse, which later burned.”

A good first stop is the park visitors center, where a 25-minute film titled “Shiloh: Portrait of a Battle” is screened throughout the day. Outside, the grounds hold a number of well-designed monuments, 229 pieces of artillery and a beautiful National Cemetery with the remains of 3,584 Civil War dead, the vast majority of which are unknown soldiers.

For another overview of the war in the region, the new, $9 million Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center at 501 W. Linden St. in Corinth is located at the site of the Battery Robinet, which was stormed by Confederate forces on Oct. 4, 1862. In addition to indoor exhibits, which include a look at the way earthworks surrounding the town were constructed, the center screens two historic films, one on the battle of Corinth, the other on the nearby battle of Shiloh.

Be sure to step outside for a look at the wonderful “Stream of History,” a water and stone feature that traces 100 years of American history through a reflecting pool filled with blocks of stone proportionate in size to the number of casualties suffered in each major Civil War battle.

Around the reflecting pool, bronze leaves of the state trees of every state that took part in the war are embedded in the walkway, symbolizing the men who lost their lives.

For those interested in learning more about the Civil War, the center also houses a research library and bookstore.

Some of the nation’s best-preserved earthwork fortifications, designated National Historic Landmarks, can be found in the area surrounding Corinth. Maps showing remnants of these fortifications are available at the center.

“If you could line up all the earthworks built around Corinth during the war, they would stretch for 33 miles,” Parson said. “Today, about one-fifth of them remain.”

At 215 N. Filmore St., the Corinth Contraband Camp is the site that grew into a working town where many slaves lived during the Union army occupation. Because slaves were considered property by their Southern masters, the Northern army allowed the 2,500 to 6,000 runaways who made their way to Corinth to live under its protection until it abandoned the camp in 1864.

The current site is a park-like area open to the public, although only several of the planned seven bronze statues depicting everyday life in camp have been installed.



Dave Zuchowski writes for the New Castle (Pa.) News.