Bloody Pond

[mt155]

At the right time of day and year the Bloody Pond at Shiloh looks red.

 

[redbob]

It has to do with the tannic acid from oak leaves leaching into the water, but then again...

 

[ole]

Last time I was there, people were feeding carp.

 

[Buckeye Bill]

On my first visit to Shiloh, I thought this pond was huge based on pictures and drawings. But when I observed this pond in person, I stated, "This is it?"

 

[redbob]

On my first visit to the Shiloh, I thought this pond was huge based on pictures and drawings. But when I observed this pond in person, I stated, "This is it?"

I think that most people probably have that reaction, it has such a big place in the Shiloh story to be a rather small place in reality.

 

[Lee]

Never visited the Shiloh battlefield but despite that I would have expected something larger also.

 

[28thNewYork]

Life imitating art? A recent post on History.com (who bring you the cable channel of the same name) raises doubt that a pond was there at the time of the battle, let alone a red one.

 

[ErnieMac]

Is it possible that the pond is smaller because of the time of the year or low water? The pond seems larger in the photo in the attached link.
http://www.burnsland.com/adventures/2013/03/bloody-pond-at-shiloh/

 

[hrobalabama]

The name "Bloody Pond" is not mentioned in contemporary accounts.
It was a later monicker given by the park service.

 

[bankerpapaw]

Why is there such a "move on" to discredit some of the events and places at Shiloh?

 

[dlofting]

In his book "The Untold Story of Shiloh: the Battle and the Battlefield", Timothy Smith, a staff member at Shiloh NMP writes on page 22:

"Similarly, the entire Bloody Pond phenomenon could be a myth. There is no contemporary evidence that indicates that the pond became blood-stained. In fact, there is no contemporary evidence that there was even a pond on this spot. The sole account came from a local citizen who years later told of walking by a pond a few days after the battle and seeing it stained with blood."

On page 149 he wrote:

"For example, Reed (appointed secretary and historian of the newly created Shiloh NMP on March 26, 1895) marked the Bloody Pond, which is today one of the most popular sites in the park. However, no after-action report mentioned the pond, and the account of bloodstained water came only from a local resident who walked the field after the battle. In addition, other people reported similar instances of bloodstained water at other locations. But Reed marked this particular pond, and it has become known to history as Bloody Pond"

 

[hrobalabama]

It sort of makes one wonder about history we have been taught.

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

From Civil War Trust,

Battle of Shiloh: Shattering Myths

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/shiloh/shiloh-history-articles/battle-of-shiloh-shattering.html

 

[Buckeye Bill]

CWT is awesome!!!!

 

[ole]

Seems that brigades did not cross Dill Branch. My recollection is a couple of regiments.

 

[rpkennedy]

Tim Smith also has a Modern War Studies volume on the battle of Shiloh coming out in October.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/070061995X/?tag=civilwartalkc-20

R

 

[John Davison]

At the right time of day and year the Bloody Pond at Shiloh looks red.

I saw bloody pond in July, -- not what I envisioned from my reading. Pretty small, but hey, it's a farm pond afterall. I noticed too that there were a number of fairly new peach trees planted in the orchard.