Gen.Albert Sidney Johnston’s death site, Shiloh National Battlefield...

farrargirl

First Sergeant
Joined
Jul 9, 2017
Location
Baldwin County, on the Alabama Gulf Coast
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This park has beautifully done signage, and this one is no exception. I think I have identified these soldiers who attended him, but someone correct me if need be. Standing, I believe, is Gen. William Preston, Johnston’s brother-in-law. Attending him is Tennessee Gov. Isham Harris, who is kneeling. The soldier who is holding him is I think, Alonzo Ridley, who was Captain of his bodyguard staff. Ridley aligned himself with Johnston out West during the earlier Texas campaigns, and chose to follow him to his new command.When Johnston died, he went back to Texas and the Western Territory. When the war was over, he refused to take the Oath, and relocated to Mexico. ( Texas OnLine Encyclopedia, I think ).

His monument with close-up of signage:
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I wanted to see his place of death so I walked down this path:
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A great many trees were down in this area, and also in Confederate Trench #1....
This was rather sad....
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Was there a marker here once...?
Climbed back up the path and realized how easy it was to imagine this tragedy unfolding in the midst of a ferocious battle...
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What a life this General lived! With the experience of 4 or 5 previous war commands, one cannot help but wonder what the outcome of this battle may have been.....if only....
LOC image, colorized by me.
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When the tree to the right fell it damaged the marker . It is being replaced now as it was deemed unrepairable . If you want to stand where he died take one step to the left standing in front of the marker . You will see where a tree used to be . That is where a great man drew his last breath .
 
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What was left of the tree 24 years ago. I hear it's no longer there at all.View attachment 390857
Sorry, Polloco - but you've got the WRONG tree. @16thAL is talking about one that used to be down IN the ravine where the post for the damaged sign is. NPS Ranger @TomP has given detailed explanations here before about the one in your picture and why its identity as the "death tree" is dubious at best and spurious at worst. Here's my own photo of the site in the ravine from a visit in 2018:

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Death tree just a hole in the ground now . The downed tree that hurt the market they are trying to clean up now . The hurricane that came through did so much tree devastation that they still working on it .
 
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James N. , @16thAL .... wow, I might need more coffee. So, there are actually three trees involved here?
The big “witness” tree from @Polloco’s post, the almost-at-the-marker tree, and the downed tree that hit the marker. First two are gone, last one to be cleared....??..
To further complicate things for you, there are actually FOUR - in addition to the three you mention, there's a relatively *new* seedling from the 'original' tree pictured by @Polloco only a short distance away from its location behind the Johnston Morturary Monument! The photo above was taken by @kilroy15 during our annual CWT Gathering last year there and is looking down into the ravine - the red post is visible at left center and pieces of the tree that felled the sign are at bottom left. The damage had occurred shortly before our visit in September.
 
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To further complicate things for you, there are actually FOUR - in addition to the three you mention, there's a relatively *new* seedling from the 'original' tree pictured by @Polloco only a short distance away from its location behind the Johnston Morturary Monument! The photo above was taken by @kilroy15 during our annual CWT Gathering last year there and is looking down into the ravine - the red post is visible at left center and pieces of the tree that felled the sign are at bottom left. The damage had occurred shortly before our visit in September.
Ha! That’s a fun fact...was this damage from Hurricane Sally? We were literally in the eye down here on the coast. I lost eleven big trees just in my back yard. People lost a lot down here...
 
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To further complicate things for you, there are actually FOUR - in addition to the three you mention, there's a relatively *new* seedling from the 'original' tree pictured by @Polloco only a short distance away from its location behind the Johnston Morturary Monument! The photo above was taken by @kilroy15 during our annual CWT Gathering last year there and is looking down into the ravine - the red post is visible at left center and pieces of the tree that felled the sign are at bottom left. The damage had occurred shortly before our visit in September.
I guess I was off looking for our lost squad in the woods when that picture was taken. :biggrin:
 
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