Shiloh

We got to Shiloh today as promised. It is a somber, stirring place. We watched the (1956) movie that explained the battle and it's significance. It was the battle that broke the South's hold on the western front. Even though the war lasted another two years, the South could not from this point on, mount an offensive up the Mississippi and come from the West. It was a tragic battle in many regards. One of elation and despair for both sides. The South won the first day's fighting and started to drive the Union back, but then the Union reinforcements arrived to shore up Grant's army overnight and the next day they drove the outnumbered Confederates back over the ground they had so dearly fought and died to gain the day before. At the end of two days of fighting, the South had over 10,000 injured and dead and the Union had over 13,000.

The area is a mix of clear fields and oak forest and in driving around the battlefield, it is easy to imagine the terror of confronting all that firepower with the short range of vision available. Like Gettysburg, it has large numbers of gun emplacements from the various divisions involved in the fight. It's impressive but a little hard to absorb after seeing scene after scene.

Just to prove that there are really two people on this trip, I managed to talk a young lady into providing us with proof.

Of course, we had to stop at the bookstore for souvenirs and the highlight of Diane's day was finding the cookbook from "Fried Green Tomatoes".