Story and photos by David Moore
S
hiloh. It means “place of peace” in Hebrew. Yet it was anything but on April 6-7, 1862, as Union and Confederate armies clashed at Shiloh, Tenn., killing or wounding 23,746 soldiers – America’s bloodiest battle to that point in history. Considered today as one of the nation’s best preserved Civil War battlefields, the 5,000-acre Shiloh National Military Park is a surprisingly peaceful and lovely place to visit. It’s as quiet as … well, the U.S. National Cemetery there. Strolling through a tranquil field or along a dirt lane flanked by split-rail fencing, peering through dense, rolling forests or resting against a blue-patinaed bronze cannon barrel – it’s still easy to imagine the carnage that unfolded here to a cacophony of blasting Springfields, booming artillery, Rebel yells and screams of agony. Engaging as it is somber, Shiloh is an interesting – and easy – place to visit. Visitors are encouraged to begin their discovery of the battlegrounds 22 miles south in Corinth, Miss. If you take Ala. 157 from Cullman or Alt U.S. 72 from Decatur, it’s right on your way. At Corinth, two crucial railways crossed, forming the transportation “spine” of the Confederacy’s western theater. It was here that Confederate troops regrouped after Union victories – under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant – at forts Henry and Donelson in that February. Grant pursued the Rebels up the Tennessee River amassing his troops for weeks at Pittsburg Landing. They were intent on marching on Corinth when approaching reinforcements arrived. They didn’t get the chance. In the pre-dawn hours of April 6, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston – who was killed in the horrible carnage of that day – preempted Grant’s plans, attacking
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NOV. | DEC. | JAN. 2022-23
Good Getaways
Civil War horrors permeate the stillness lying over Shiloh battlefield
