Vicksburger
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2011
- Location
- Saint Joseph
Beautiful Fall pictures of Shiloh! Brings back memories...Thanks for posting!
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Fall at Shiloh
- Thread starter Georgian183
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Location
- Corinth MS
As I was driving through the park Thursday night I couldn't help but think how peaceful that place is now .
Johnny Shafto
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2021
Last Thursday was a beautiful evening. Standing at the landing we saw a bald eagle perched in a tree across the river. I was also struck at how beautifully it was maintained. Both staff and visitors should be commended. I didn't see a speck of trash anywhere.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Location
- Corinth MS
The hurricane did tons of damage with downed trees that some of which are still down . The new superintendent is working on cleaning it up but it is a large task . They have let trees overtake the once fields and now there are a lot of woods to take care of .
Georgian183
Private
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2021
My wife and I saw several herds of deer and flocks of turkeys on our visit. Shiloh is definitely one of the most serene and beautiful battlefields I've ever visited. As we drove the surrounding countryside, I did notice what appeared to be numerous crop fields, but they had an odd look to them....very low ground. I was also amazed at how bad the ground around the battlefield would be for maneuvering troops....
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Location
- Corinth MS
I have counted as many as 82 deer on a given winter Sunday there .
UCVRelics
Brevet Brigadier General
Forum HostGold Patron
Regtl. Quartermaster Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. Quartermaster Antietam 2021
Regtl. Quartermaster Stones River / Franklin 2022
- Joined
- May 7, 2016
- Location
- Alabama
Awesome Photos as I see several POTM among them. Ruggle's Battery. Thanks for taking us along.
Ole Miss
Major
Forum HostSilver Patron
Regtl. Staff Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. QM Stones River / Franklin 2022
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
- Location
- North Mississippi
The Shiloh battlefield sits atop a plateau that falls off steeply along the Tennessee River as well as parts of the filed that are often 50 plus feet elevation differences. Imagine sending over 100,000 men into an area of about 4,500 acres which is just a shade over 7 square miles!
Regards
David
Regards
David
bankerpapaw
Captain
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2007
- Location
- Rome, Georgia
Very nice pictures!!! Thanks!!! Shiloh is my favorite battlefield.
John S. Carter
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2017
Beautiful pictures, just wish that you would have labeled them as to their location on the battlefield.
John S. Carter
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2017
John S. Carter
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2017
Is there any way which you could high light the plates on these monuments ? These appear to be recent monuments. Who had these done ? In the cemetery, are there any Confederate dead? Such a ceream place, it is difficult to realize what horrors occured at these fields.
Ole Miss
Major
Forum HostSilver Patron
Regtl. Staff Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. QM Stones River / Franklin 2022
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
- Location
- North Mississippi
@John S. Carter there are 3 known Confederate soldiers buried in the Shiloh National Cemetery with only 2 identified.
1)
2)
3) F. A. Rasch of the New Orleans Guard is buried in the National Cemetery under a Unknown head stone
If you have additional questions regarding Shiloh, please do not hesitate to ask as I would be glad to assist
Regards
David
1)
2)
3) F. A. Rasch of the New Orleans Guard is buried in the National Cemetery under a Unknown head stone
If you have additional questions regarding Shiloh, please do not hesitate to ask as I would be glad to assist
Regards
David
Ole Miss
Major
Forum HostSilver Patron
Regtl. Staff Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. QM Stones River / Franklin 2022
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
- Location
- North Mississippi
@John S. Carter if you will go to the Shiloh Monument web site* you will be able to see what signage is on each tablet and monument
Regards
David
*https://www.nps.gov/shil/learn/historyculture/monument-search.htm#sort=Title asc
Regards
David
*https://www.nps.gov/shil/learn/historyculture/monument-search.htm#sort=Title asc
John S. Carter
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2017
This would be a quote to place on the desk of history teachers who are introducing twenty first century into eighteenth and nineteenth century time. Not all soldiers who went to war did so over the support for slavery nor to free the slave. Each soldier on both sides had their own motivation for going. As it was with my great grandfather who came from a small rural town in Alabama ,fought in the CSA.
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2019
- Location
- Corinth MS
What unit was he in ?
Reconstructed Rebel
Captain
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2021
I think there is a Lincoln quote to the effect that it should be remembered that those born in Northern states would likely be fighting for that South if they had happened to be born in the states in secession and vice versa. We all try to fit in with our group.
Ole Miss
Major
Forum HostSilver Patron
Regtl. Staff Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. QM Stones River / Franklin 2022
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
- Location
- North Mississippi
IN 1860-1861, there sectional beliefs as strong as those which are besetting our nation today. The average young man---18 to mid 20's---had not been more than a few miles from their birthplace and their only world was the community in which they lived. Familes lived for generations in the same small orbit and kinfolk were everywhere. It would take a very independent minded young man to split from kith and kin to fight for the other side.
Regards
David
Regards
David
Ole Miss
Major
Forum HostSilver Patron
Regtl. Staff Shiloh 2020
Asst. Regtl. QM Stones River / Franklin 2022
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2017
- Location
- North Mississippi
In the interest of providing clarity in my poor attempts in answering questions recently posted, I thought I would share this small presentation I made at a recent Shiloh Muster in 2020
Regards
David
Shiloh National Cemetery
Establishment of Shiloh National Military Cemetery
In 1866, the Shiloh National Cemetery was established by the War Department and funds were allocated to construct the facility, consisting of 10 acres, on the West Bank of the Tennessee River. Captain Edmund B. Whitman of the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps, was tasked with supervising the removal of bodies from the battlefield and their reinterment. Eventually, Whitman and his command spent 7 days on the battlefield with the following results:
The result of the exploration has been the discovery and localizing of the burial places of eighteen hundred and seventy four union dead. Six hundred and twenty have been identified by headboards and inscriptions, and the inscriptions copied. Of all these, sixty five (65) are solitary graves situated here and there over the entire field. There are eighty nine groups of separate graves containing more than two in the group. Twenty one trenches containing at the most moderate estimate, two hundred and fifty four bodies – probably more – have been notices. All of these solitary graves, groups and trenches occupying no less than one hundred and seventy eight different localities scattered from the bank of the river to the extreme exterior line, and from the extreme right of the right wing to the extreme left of the left wing covering all the fighting ground of that memorable and bloody contest."*
Nearly 100,000 men fought in this small corner of West Tennessee and over 24,000 men were, KIA, WIA and MIA. This level of devastation was unimaginable and exceeded the total number of Americans killed in all previous wars and battles. The cemetery contains the remains of 3,584 Union soldiers, more than 2,300 of which are unknown. There are 2 identified Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery with at least one unknown Reb lying under an Unknown stone. Union soldiers from 500 other locations in West Tennessee were also buried in the National Cemetery. A little fact is that there are 29 regimental sections within the cemetery which were transferred from the known regimental burial trenches discovered on the battlefield.
The brick wall surrounding the cemetery was erected in 1867 and in 1911 the large iron ornamental gate was installed.
Edmund B. Whitman of the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps led one of the crews charged with converting temporary graveyards into permanent national cemeteries. Over four years beginning in March 1865, Whitman's men located, disinterred, and reburied almost 115,000 bodies.
The final item of interest I will point out is what Captain E B. Whitman wrote to Major General J. L. Donaldson on March 26, 1866 concerning Whitman's efforts to locate the bodies of buried soldiers, Union and Confederate, on the Shiloh battlefield. Union soldiers were reinterred in the new national cemetery which graces the hill above the landing today.
I have included only that part of Whitman's letter that related to Shiloh and his observations as to where the heaviest fighting occurred.
Captain Whitman started his March 26, 1866 communication with General Donaldson with the opening sentence:
"Having completed the exploration of the Battleground of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing, I hasten to communicate briefly the results of my labors since the last report."
Following is Captain Whitman's description of his efforts at locating the bodies of the fallen at Shiloh.
"I come now to the most important and interesting portion of my work of this section – an inspection of the battlefield of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh Church. Seven days of uninterrupted labor of the entire party have been devoted to the work; and, I flatter myself, with a good degree of success. A space of territory containing about twelve square miles has been examined minutely. An aggregate of about four hundred linual miles of travel have been accomplished on the grounds. The field has been swept by the entire party, deployed in manner of skirmish line, at such distances from each other as to leave the intervening space within easy observation. In this manner we passed over the entire battlefield back and forth, the outer man scoring the trees as he went, to guide on the return. Every grave, group of graves and trench have been carefully noted and the location recorded by point of compass and distance from some prominent point or object easy of recognition. The separate graves have been counted and each lot and group recorded by itself. Every legible name, number, and inscription has been copied. Plans of the road, fields, houses, etc., will be prepared, and in addition to a written description, the location of the larger group of graves will be noted on the place.
The result of the exploration has been the discovery and localizing of the burial places of eighteen hundred and seventy four union dead. Six hundred and twenty have been identified by headboards and inscriptions, and the inscriptions copied. Of all these, sixty five (65) are solitary graves situated here and there over the entire field. There are eighty nine groups of separate graves containing more than two in the group. Twenty one trenches containing at the most moderate estimate, two hundred and fifty four bodies – probably more – have been notices. All of these solitary graves, groups and trenches occupying no less than one hundred and seventy eight different localities scattered from the bank of the river to the extreme exterior line, and from the extreme right of the right wing to the extreme left of the left wing covering all the fighting ground of that memorable and bloody contest."
The above two paragraphs show the extent of the work that Captain Whitman and his force performed in locating bodies on the Shiloh battlefield approximately four years after the fight
The next paragraph and one sentence of the following paragraph are for those interested in knowing the truth about Shiloh. The following words of Captain Whitman are quintessential in deriving that truth.
"The haste of the graves of the Union dead, as well as the trenches and mounds covering the rebel dead, marks most distinctly the progress of the fight, and the points where each party suffered most severely. The appearance of the very woods themselves indicated the points at which the fight raged most fiercely. On our left, covering the ground over which General Prentiss was driven from the Ray and Spain lands across the Barnes and George farms to the Bell field where he was finally captured, the slaughter of the Federal troops seems by the number of graves to have been terrible. (Bold added) At one point N.E. of the Widow Bell's house where an Indiana Battery is said to have been stationed, the brush and small trees are mown off as with a scythe, and the number of rebel dead is greater than at any other point. The ground is now white with their bones.--**
On our right also the rebels seem to have suffered most severely, while in the center there seems to have been less fighting as fewer graves are found."
Captain E. B. Whitman, who was physically on the Shiloh battlefield just four years after the battle when the evidence of the fighting was still fairly fresh mentioned just one general officer in his report and where that officer fought "the slaughter of the Federal troops seems by the number of graves to have been terrible." That officer is Brigadier General Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss. It is not Sherman, it is not McClernand, it is not Hurlbut and it is not WHL Wallace. It is Prentiss.
"The ground is now white with their bones" could very well be the area of the battlefield where Johnston sustained his mortal wound. I believe the Indiana battery erroneously referred to by Whitman was Willard's battery.
*"Report of Lt. Colonel E. B. Whitman, Superintendent of National Cemeteries for the Department of the Cumberland at Louisville, Kentucky, May 1869" (entry 646)
Regards
David
Shiloh National Cemetery
Establishment of Shiloh National Military Cemetery
In 1866, the Shiloh National Cemetery was established by the War Department and funds were allocated to construct the facility, consisting of 10 acres, on the West Bank of the Tennessee River. Captain Edmund B. Whitman of the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps, was tasked with supervising the removal of bodies from the battlefield and their reinterment. Eventually, Whitman and his command spent 7 days on the battlefield with the following results:
The result of the exploration has been the discovery and localizing of the burial places of eighteen hundred and seventy four union dead. Six hundred and twenty have been identified by headboards and inscriptions, and the inscriptions copied. Of all these, sixty five (65) are solitary graves situated here and there over the entire field. There are eighty nine groups of separate graves containing more than two in the group. Twenty one trenches containing at the most moderate estimate, two hundred and fifty four bodies – probably more – have been notices. All of these solitary graves, groups and trenches occupying no less than one hundred and seventy eight different localities scattered from the bank of the river to the extreme exterior line, and from the extreme right of the right wing to the extreme left of the left wing covering all the fighting ground of that memorable and bloody contest."*
Nearly 100,000 men fought in this small corner of West Tennessee and over 24,000 men were, KIA, WIA and MIA. This level of devastation was unimaginable and exceeded the total number of Americans killed in all previous wars and battles. The cemetery contains the remains of 3,584 Union soldiers, more than 2,300 of which are unknown. There are 2 identified Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery with at least one unknown Reb lying under an Unknown stone. Union soldiers from 500 other locations in West Tennessee were also buried in the National Cemetery. A little fact is that there are 29 regimental sections within the cemetery which were transferred from the known regimental burial trenches discovered on the battlefield.
The brick wall surrounding the cemetery was erected in 1867 and in 1911 the large iron ornamental gate was installed.
Edmund B. Whitman of the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps led one of the crews charged with converting temporary graveyards into permanent national cemeteries. Over four years beginning in March 1865, Whitman's men located, disinterred, and reburied almost 115,000 bodies.
The final item of interest I will point out is what Captain E B. Whitman wrote to Major General J. L. Donaldson on March 26, 1866 concerning Whitman's efforts to locate the bodies of buried soldiers, Union and Confederate, on the Shiloh battlefield. Union soldiers were reinterred in the new national cemetery which graces the hill above the landing today.
I have included only that part of Whitman's letter that related to Shiloh and his observations as to where the heaviest fighting occurred.
Captain Whitman started his March 26, 1866 communication with General Donaldson with the opening sentence:
"Having completed the exploration of the Battleground of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing, I hasten to communicate briefly the results of my labors since the last report."
Following is Captain Whitman's description of his efforts at locating the bodies of the fallen at Shiloh.
"I come now to the most important and interesting portion of my work of this section – an inspection of the battlefield of Pittsburg Landing or Shiloh Church. Seven days of uninterrupted labor of the entire party have been devoted to the work; and, I flatter myself, with a good degree of success. A space of territory containing about twelve square miles has been examined minutely. An aggregate of about four hundred linual miles of travel have been accomplished on the grounds. The field has been swept by the entire party, deployed in manner of skirmish line, at such distances from each other as to leave the intervening space within easy observation. In this manner we passed over the entire battlefield back and forth, the outer man scoring the trees as he went, to guide on the return. Every grave, group of graves and trench have been carefully noted and the location recorded by point of compass and distance from some prominent point or object easy of recognition. The separate graves have been counted and each lot and group recorded by itself. Every legible name, number, and inscription has been copied. Plans of the road, fields, houses, etc., will be prepared, and in addition to a written description, the location of the larger group of graves will be noted on the place.
The result of the exploration has been the discovery and localizing of the burial places of eighteen hundred and seventy four union dead. Six hundred and twenty have been identified by headboards and inscriptions, and the inscriptions copied. Of all these, sixty five (65) are solitary graves situated here and there over the entire field. There are eighty nine groups of separate graves containing more than two in the group. Twenty one trenches containing at the most moderate estimate, two hundred and fifty four bodies – probably more – have been notices. All of these solitary graves, groups and trenches occupying no less than one hundred and seventy eight different localities scattered from the bank of the river to the extreme exterior line, and from the extreme right of the right wing to the extreme left of the left wing covering all the fighting ground of that memorable and bloody contest."
The above two paragraphs show the extent of the work that Captain Whitman and his force performed in locating bodies on the Shiloh battlefield approximately four years after the fight
The next paragraph and one sentence of the following paragraph are for those interested in knowing the truth about Shiloh. The following words of Captain Whitman are quintessential in deriving that truth.
"The haste of the graves of the Union dead, as well as the trenches and mounds covering the rebel dead, marks most distinctly the progress of the fight, and the points where each party suffered most severely. The appearance of the very woods themselves indicated the points at which the fight raged most fiercely. On our left, covering the ground over which General Prentiss was driven from the Ray and Spain lands across the Barnes and George farms to the Bell field where he was finally captured, the slaughter of the Federal troops seems by the number of graves to have been terrible. (Bold added) At one point N.E. of the Widow Bell's house where an Indiana Battery is said to have been stationed, the brush and small trees are mown off as with a scythe, and the number of rebel dead is greater than at any other point. The ground is now white with their bones.--**
On our right also the rebels seem to have suffered most severely, while in the center there seems to have been less fighting as fewer graves are found."
Captain E. B. Whitman, who was physically on the Shiloh battlefield just four years after the battle when the evidence of the fighting was still fairly fresh mentioned just one general officer in his report and where that officer fought "the slaughter of the Federal troops seems by the number of graves to have been terrible." That officer is Brigadier General Benjamin Mayberry Prentiss. It is not Sherman, it is not McClernand, it is not Hurlbut and it is not WHL Wallace. It is Prentiss.
"The ground is now white with their bones" could very well be the area of the battlefield where Johnston sustained his mortal wound. I believe the Indiana battery erroneously referred to by Whitman was Willard's battery.
*"Report of Lt. Colonel E. B. Whitman, Superintendent of National Cemeteries for the Department of the Cumberland at Louisville, Kentucky, May 1869" (entry 646)
Kentucky Derby Cavalier.
First Sergeant
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2019
So pretty.
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