Shiloh

A brief brush with history

By David Luttrell

May 10^th, 2015

Returning from a recent trip to West Tennessee I decided to forego I-40 for a blue highway route. State Highway 72 East took me down into Mississippi to Corinth where I turned north on 45. Seeing a sign for Shiloh National Military Park, I made a detour just past Eastview and before Selmer, Tn. (slow down to 45) and 15 miles later I had entered a solemn piece of land where two armies had clashed early on in America‘s Civil War. Grant and Sherman were both there in early April 1862. The eastern border of the 2 day battle was the Tennessee River and the Confederates had hoped to surprise the Union forces, drive them away from the river and west into the surrounding swamps to be separated from reinforcements and defeated. It didn‘t turn out that way. The Union forces fell back but not in the direction hoped for and were reinforced and the next day with the help of artillery forced the Confederates to retreat. The losses were great on both sides and Shiloh became the bloodiest battle to that point in the War Between the States.

Unfortunately I was only able to spend an hour or so there. I would really recommend spending a day. There is just too much to absorb in such a short period of time and even though the park is crisscrossed with paved roads, walking or biking will be a more rewarding experience.