A Day at Shiloh and Corinth Battlefields

When we were in Red Bay AL a few weeks ago, we took a day trip to Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee which also included some time at Corinth, Mississippi.

It was a good three-hour roundtrip, but we took our time and spent most of the day.

Our first impression was that is had some similarities to how Gettysburg National Military Park is set up, though a much smaller version.  It has cemetery area, lots of monuments and a driving tour through the property.

We went over to the Visitor's Center, saw a video and learned of Grant's victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson before heading toward his next objective at Corinth.  He landed his troops at Pittsburgh Landing (Shiloh).

After the video, we stopped at the bookstore, then walked over to the cemetery.

After a few minutes there, we were approached by a girl and her friend who asked if we would like to do a local newspaper photo op for them.  We were glad to do so and listened to a local tour guide who gave us some of the history of Shiloh and Corinth.

You can read the article here.  That was fun and an added bonus.

Next our driving tour where we tried to image the flow of the battle and skirmishes.

I always prefer a picture of how one side was pitched against the other.  As an intel analyst from my military days, we tried to present a snapshot of what the battle forces looked like.  As you can imagine, pretty wall map is a far different story than the reality of the chaos on the ground.

Shiloh was an critical location for the Union forces to secure in the bid for the important Confederate railroad junction at Corinth, MS 23 miles to the Southwest.  The battle at Shiloh was the beginning of a six-month siege at Corinth to take control of the railroad and supply centers.

I had started the book months ago but am currently in the process of finishing Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant - (his autobiography).  Very interesting reading.  Grant was injured when his horse fell on him during the heavy rains and heat of the battle.  The battle at Shiloh (or Pittsburgh Landing) on the Tennessee River was the first major battle won in the Western Theater.

On April 6 and 7, 1862 Union forces (65,000) under U.S. Grant and D.C. Buell were surprised by those of A.S. Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard (40,000).  Combined dead approached 24,000.  Hard to fathom what war is like if you've never been in one.  Union forces prevailed at Shiloh while the Confederates retreated toward Corinth.

After our driving tour around the battlegrounds, we had lunch under a big shade tree at what was once Pittsburgh Landing.

Then we were off to Corinth and our next museum.

Once we got to the Interpretive Center, we saw a number of artifacts embedded in the cement.

It was a unique way to build some curiosity.  And effective.

Inside, it was a collection of good displays and information that told the story of Corinth and its key role in the Civil War.

To the South, it was a vital distribution and supply point at a junction of rail lines going North and South (Ohio and Mobile Railroad) as well as another railroad route going East and West (Memphis and Charleston Railroad).

Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard again suffered defeat from Union forces, this time under Gen
Henry Halleck.  However, he was able to pull off a hoax and escape in the night prior to the arrival of Union forces.  He boarded the Ohio and Mobile Railroad along with his soldiers, artillery guns and a large amount of supplies.

We walked through the museum and before departing for Red Bay in the late afternoon.  I think this is another one of those places I am going to have to visit again to digest the ebb and flow of battle and  the key events throughout the siege.

It was a great battlefield to see for the first time and I'm glad we took the time to spend some time there.  The National Park Service has done a nice job with it.  My main take away from this and Vicksburg the better understanding of Gen Grant and how he rose to prominence in the Civil War.  That has always been a mystery to me.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Until next time...

Roadrunner Backfill: Vicksburg National Military Park

Not exactly sure how to handle "posts I intended to do but now we have left the area." There are plenty of blogs I have wanted to write, but didn't for one reason or another.  After we leave the area, I am hesitant to write about it because it may be confusing to our readers.  So I am going to call them, "Roadrunner Backfills".  Sort of what I used to tell the boss, "After the meeting/event, I will backfill you in what I found out."  We are now in Austin, TX and here is my first "Backfill" post.

After our time at Red Bay, AL we drove to Vicksburg, MS.  I knew that Vicksburg was one of the major battles of the Civil War, but beyond that, I really didn't know much about it until we went there.
I found this short synopsis and photograph:

We drove through town and saw some historical markers and went down along the river where we also found a 'Wall of Murals'.  I always find those interesting so we will leave that to another post.

We found the Vicksburg National Park on the edge of town and went by.  We took in the usual video in the Visitor's Center and the adjacent displays to get and a feel for the major story lines of the area.

Outside there were some re-enactors camped out.

Vicksburg reminded me a little bit of Gettysburg National Park because of all the monuments and the driving tour.  But this area is much more hilly.  When trying to image what it was like a 150 years ago, I realize  the landscape is so different than it was.  Some of the older pictures of that time show a mountain side ravaged by bombardment.  The heavy forests were obliterated by weeks and weeks during the siege of 1863.  The beautiful drive and meadows and buildings are far different than the horrors combatants experienced then.

Vicksburg was the last major battle of the Civil War concluding one day after the Battle of Gettysburg. Union Major General (two-star) Ulysses S. Grant's forces faced those of Confederate Lieutenant General (three-star) John C. Pemberton.

Grant had 35,000 men while Pemberton had a little more than half - 18,500.  After a number of failed attempts on the city, Union forces bombarded the Vicksburg from the River and surrounded the city, finally settling in for a siege.  They dug in the hill sides which lasted for weeks.

Finally after 47 days, Pemberton and Grant met and agreed on terms of surrender on July 4, 1863.

We took a driving tour of the Vicksburg National Military Park.  

The large number of monuments, plaques, markers and tablets make Vicksburg one of the most 'monumented' parks in the world.  It was a nice day to take a leisurely tour through it to learn more of America's history.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...