Shiloh, Part One: Shiloh National Military Park
- lvenegas13
- Jan 11
- 9 min read
Updated: Jan 22
SHILOH: FOUR SACRED SITES IN ONE PLACE, PART ONE: NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
SHILOH NATIONAL MILITARY PARK, SHILOH BATTLEFIELD
1055 Pittsburgh Landing Road, Shiloh, TN 38376
Free to visit, Monday through Sunday 9am-5pm, closed on holidays.
SHILOH NATIONAL MILITARY PARK, CORINTH UNIT
215 Fillmore St., Corinth, MS
662-287-9273
Free to visit, Monday through Sunday 9am-5pm, closed on holidays.
There are four Sacred aspects to Shiloh (and maybe more): It is one of the bloodiest and most important battlefields of the Civil War; it has incredibly preserved Indian mounds that include rarely seen remnants of houses; it is a National Military Cemetery reflecting soldiers from the Revolutionary War to the present; and it's one of the most consequential pathways for the Trail of Tears. IN ONE PLACE. Shiloh, Tennessee is many things, and if you’re a student of the military, archaeology, and Native American history, a lover of cemeteries, or interested in the paranormal it is not to be missed!
I must admit to having put off the trip for some time. I am not normally a military buff and am sick at the thought of war. So, to think of placing myself in the middle of 5,500 acres where nearly 24,000 men and boys died amidst the roaring of cannons and screams of agony…. I had to think twice. But here’s the thing: Shiloh isn’t just a battlefield. Until around 800 years ago, a Chiefdom of a Native American tribe lived here, building at least seven mounds along the Tennessee River and creating a peaceful society. Then only six centuries after they departed, their land would attest to unforgettable carnage. Not long after that, the riverbanks witnessed Native Americans floating by, transported against their will to new lands in Oklahoma, and nearby Savannah saw another group pass through on foot. This is a Sacred Site for many reasons, of this there is no question. There's a lot to unpack, so let's start with the battlefield first, since this is after all what it is known for most, then we'll continue with a second post exploring the other three hallowed aspects of this incredible site.
The battlefield and military park are named after the Shiloh Meeting House, where a log cabin church once stood and a replica now stands. Ironically, the name Shiloh in Hebrew means 'tranquil' or 'peaceful,' and its site became witness to events that were anything but.
The Battle of Shiloh took place over two days, April 6-7, 1862, and would result in one of the most horrific and consequential battles of the Civil War. It is fitting that not long after the conflict the government would set aside the land and begin the work of creating a national park to commemorate this event with the help of US Veterans. The trip begins at the Visitor Center, where displays give you an overview of why this battle came to be, how the two days unfolded and the effect it had on the Civil War. There is a theater that shows a highly rated film that is approximately 45 minutes long. Park rangers will also provide you with brochures with more info, including a map for the driving tour, and instructions on how to download the audio guide. Stop by the bookstore to pick up books to read later!
You will be at Shiloh a minimum of two hours but likely many more! There is SO much to see and take in, many picture-taking opportunities, and you will constantly be getting in and out of the car reading plaques or walking trails. The entire park is well thought out, creating an immersive experience that allows you to read tablets while facing the directions the troops themselves would have faced, and also naming which troops were present. Don’t just look for them in the obvious places; plaques are sometimes placed on trails or on the edges of the woods where action took place. The markers are shaped and colored to guide you: Large rectangular tablets provide historical information, small rectangles mark troop movements on April 6, and oval tablets mark troop positions on April 7th. Red rectangles represent the Confederate Army of Mississippi, blue the Federal Army of Tennessee, and yellow the Federal Army of Ohio. Tour routes are very well marked, but it helps to follow along with the map so that you can better navigate the roads, as they do meander and cross one another occasionally.
You will see MANY monuments on this site. For example, there are mortuary monuments honoring the individual state regiments who sacrificed so much and headquarter monuments to show where the leaders’ main camps were. In addition, there is a large monument to honor the Confederate troops who surrounded and captured 2,100 Union troops during a surprise attack on the first day of fighting, and a monument to Confederate General Albert S. Johnston (more on him in a minute). Cannons are lined up all along the battlefields, sometimes in great lines, other times in small groups. One of the things that will strike you immediately about Shiloh is how wooded most of the area is. At the time of the battle, this land was mostly an old growth forest; this is what made fighting so very challenging, with trees obstructing the view and making group fighting difficult except on open fields.
Oh! What suffering, what misery, what untold agony this horrid hell-begotten war has caused. I am awful tired of being a soldier.” – James M. Harrison, Lt., 15th Arkansas Infantry, CSA, letter to his brother, Corinth, MS, May 26, 1862
So, what was Shiloh about? Here is the short version: Corinth, MS, 22 miles from Shiloh, was the most strategic transportation hub for the Confederates, as it was the portal to the Mississippi Valley, or Western Theater. This is where two of the most important railroads met, one linking Columbus, KY with Mobile, AL, and the other the Mississippi River to the Atlantic via Chattanooga. Severing the railroad and waterways would splinter the two halves of the Confederacy. Having recently retreated from Kentucky and Middle Tennessee, Confederate Gen. Albert S. Johnston assembled the western forces here to plan his defense against invading Union troops.
In the meantime, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, fresh off his wins in Forts Henry and Donelson, sailed up the Tennessee River to Pittsburgh Landing with the Army of the Tennessee, the most logical place from which to plan a counteroffensive. This spot in the river allowed riverboats to load and unload at the southernmost junction of the river closest to Corinth, while nearby farmland allowed for tens of thousands of troops to encamp. While Grant waited for Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio to arrive from Nashville via land route, Johnston seized the initiative and attacked the Union troops on the morning of April 6, 1862. Despite the early advantage that saw the South capture thousands of soldiers and force back enemy troops to the river, their triumph was not to last. By the end of the first day, Gen. Johnston was dead, a huge blow to the Confederates as he was the leader of the Western Theater. The second day Grant’s troops were reinforced, the Confederates were beaten back, and Gen. P.G.T Beauregard had the surviving Confederate troops retreat to Corinth. The battle for Shiloh would come to be known by two names: The Battle of Shiloh by the Confederates and the Battle of Pittsburgh Landing by the Union. Later that year in October, Corinth would fall to Union forces and the city was abandoned by the Confederates. In all, around 275,000 officers and soldiers would fight in Shiloh and Corinth.
Shiloh was the severest battle fought at the West during the war, and but few in the East equaled it for hard, determined fighting….Up until the battle of Shiloh I, as well as thousands of other citizens, believed that the rebellion against the Government would collapse suddenly and soon, if a decisive victory could be gained over any of its armies.” – Ulysses S. Grant
This was the cost of war at Shiloh: 23,746 casualties, with 3,500 dead, 16,500 wounded, and nearly 4,000 missing, including those captured. More men were lost at Shiloh than in any other American war combined to that point. This was the battle that made the nation realize the true cost of what they had started through sectionalism, and to understand the Civil War would not be a quick fight. Standing on those battlefields I couldn’t help but compare those times with today. Some feel that the US is currently undergoing a new rise in sectionalism fueled by decades of social, economic and political issues, similar in some ways to what led to the Civil War. If this is true, can we learn from the events at Shiloh and work towards reconciliation and collaboration in our country before it's too late?
Slowly we came back to our camp through scenes of wreck and slaughter, that I could not describe…What a pity it is that men do not use reason instead of rifles, and common sense instead of cannon.” – William Camm, Lt. Col., 14th Illinois Infantry, USA, diary entry, April 7, 1862
All of the violence and intense fighting and suffering at Shiloh has undoubtedly created energy imprints on this site. A search online will reveal many discussions on the phenomena that people have experienced here, from apparitions, to hearing drums, cannon fire, gunshots and fighting, to feeling touched and more. I personally felt heavy at times, gloomy with sadness, and my companion felt things as well. I was deep in thought imagining the roar of the cannons and sounds of fighting and agony. Although my feelings could be attributed to thinking about the heavy subject at hand, I’m pretty sure from past experiences with the paranormal that it was more than that. And while I didn’t see anything specifically, I did have a series of pictures that I took at the trail head leading to Fraley Field and on Reconnoitering Road appear completely white on my camera. I’ve never had this happen before! Some of the areas where people have experienced events are the Shiloh church where misty forms appear, the Bloody Pond where the water turned red from soldiers bathing their wounds (and eerily still does today in the summer from algae bloom), and the Hornet's Nest area where so much of the intense fighting happened. In what is surely a scene straight from a Kurasawa movie, the trees were in full bloom in the Peach Orchard when many soldiers fought to their death and apparitions have been seen there. So, if you’re interested in ghostly encounters, the military park as well as the Indian mounds are places you will want to consider visiting.
If you have the time, be sure to drive 22 miles south to Corinth, MS where the Shiloh National Military Park’s Corinth Unit is located. Here you will find another well-thought-out park, with the battlefields for the Corinth Siege of April 29-May 30, 1862, as well as the Corinth Battlefield of October 3-4, 1862. During the course of the war the small town of Corinth was home to more than 200 Confederate and Union generals, and more than 300,000 soldiers passed through the town.
The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center features interactive displays of both the Corinth and Shiloh battles, three films are shown throughout the day, and a commemorative courtyard rich in symbolism allows for reflection on the Civil War. For those who like to do research there is a bookstore and library on site.
In addition, this park features the Corinth National Cemetery to explore, also created in 1866. The twenty-acre park is home to 1,793 known and 3,895 unknown Union soldiers.
Finally, this national park has something few others have: a Contraband Camp! This camp was started when enslaved African Americans (called the “Contraband of War”) fled to the Union camp after they occupied Corinth. These escaped slaves soon became the cooks, laborers and teamsters of the site, as well as armed security at the gates. The tent city soon grew exponentially to around 6,000 people with the Emancipation Proclamation, and became a community with a church, school, hospital and farm. Approximately 1,000 men in the camp would enlist in the Union army forming the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment of African Descent (later renamed to the 55th US Colored Infantry). The camp closed in December 1863 and the formerly enslaved moved to a refugee facility in Memphis, TN. This commemoration of a small section of the camp with bronze statues is a moving display and not to be missed for those interested in the US Colored Troops and the path to freedom for formerly enslaved African Americans.
Below are Norm Hill and Osa Onaregie, USCT reenactors, during filming for the upcoming documentary "Tide Turners" about the USCT in Tennessee. Norm Hill has been doing reenactments for many years after being inspired by the movie "Glory" and has a fascinating collection of artifacts from the Civil War including surgical instruments!
A great way to get to know this important site is through self-guided walking and driving tours of the Corinth Campaign, which will take you through Civil War-era buildings, the Union earthworks, the Contraband Camp, and of course the famous railroad crossroads that started this whole mess. Click here for more information on this site. www.corinthcivilwar.com.
I mentioned at the start of this post that Shiloh is not just one Sacred Site but four. In part two, we’ll explore the National Cemetery, the Indian Mounds, and its importance on the Trail of Tears!
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