July 18th, 2008
By Arthur

We tend to take the term lightly-field hospital. It is a commonly used term in this day in age, and a phrase that everyone has heard often and can associate with. We all know what a field hospital is, and what purpose it has. But the field hospital at Shiloh was different, because it was the first of its type.

The field hospital at Shiloh was the brainchild of Dr. Bernard John Dowling Irwin. Dr. Irwin was assigned to the staff of William “Bull” Nelson, who was commanding the fourth division of the Army of the Ohio. His revolutionary thinking saved many lives at the battle of Shiloh and allowed him and his staff to provide a level of care that was unmatched for that time period.

Although the term “field hospital” had been used in the past, the field hospital at Shiloh was unique because Dr. Irwin used resources that were readily available to him from an abandoned army camp. These resources included tents, and such the term field hospital was coined. “Field hospitals” of the past usually only consisted of straw, for bedding, along with a tarp or two that would cover the wounded soldier. Dr. Irwin’s hospital also differentiated itself from previous “field hospitals” because location was taken into account. He picked the location of the field hospital at Shiloh because there was a spring creek, with fresh potable water nearby, as well as a building that was in close proximity. The field hospital was also closer to the line of attack, and also was more mobile. This was a major advantage, and prevented wounded soldiers from having to be transferred to the nearest “hospital”. The transporting of the solider could cause more damage to a wounded soldier, then being wounded, and Dr. Irwin recognized this.

When I was standing at the field hospital I tried to imagine the carnage that would have had to gone on there. I realize, that at this point in time, the care these men were receiving was second to none, but to imagine surgeries taking place here in the midst of this huge battle just baffles me. The primitive tools that were used is also incredible, and I just have a hard time grasping, and even coming close to imagining, what it must’ve been like.

The park service is trying to grow trees inside the area where the field hospital once was, and I honestly have no idea why that is the case. The area, as you can tell from the pictures, is still fenced off to give you a general idea of where the hospital once was, but I’m not sure the reason behind the tree planting.

To imagine so many wounded men coming and going from this place is unbelievable to me. The amount of bloodshed that occurred here, along with the ingenuity that was used, is awesome and humbling at the same time. Dr. Irwin saved many a man’s life that day with his ingenuity and creativity, and his way of handling the wounded on the battlefield continued for many years to come.

The field hospital at Shiloh. A truly great piece of invention, and at the same time, a truly dark place.

Note: Another little interesting tidbit about the field hospital at Shiloh. Clara Barton also manned the hospital here, and helped many wounded men to get back on their feet again. You all might know her as the woman who eventually went on to organize the American Red Cross.

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June 04th, 2008
By Arthur

Fraley Field sits in the southwest corner of the Shiloh battlefield. It is the spot where the Shiloh battle started and was honestly a favorite stop on the battlefield tour for me. I’m not sure if it was because the wife and I endured trampling through a mud pit to reach the field, or if it was just the sure openness of the place, but for some reason I remember vividly how the field looked and how I felt as we approached it.

Col. Everett Peabody, who was the commander of the Sixth Division, of the First Brigade, of the Army of the Tennessee had a distinct feeling the morning of April 6th, 1862, that something wasn’t right. There were reports coming back from many of his pickets, some members of 12th Michigan, who were out on patrol, that they had detected confederates in the nearby woods, and he decided to act. He sent out a Union Patrol that morning, which was led by Col. James E. Powell, to investigate the situation, and as they entered Fraley Field they encountered Confederate pickets who were leading several waves of men from the Army of the Mississippi’s Third Army Corps.

The pickets were up on the high ground, that you see in the picture to your right, and noticed the Union patrol directly in front of them. Three shots rang out and the Battle of Shiloh began. The fighting in Fraley Field only lasted about an hour and resulted in the Union patrol retreating. It also served to alert the rest of the Union army that the confederates were definitely on their way.

Although not a major factor in the outcome of the Shiloh battle, Fraley Field still is a point of interest, because of it being the place where the Union army first realized that the Confederate army was indeed on its way. After hours of different Union pickets reporting back to their commanders that they knew confederates were nearby, and after many a commander refusing to take action because they believed they were only confederate recon patrols, Fraley Field was the location where finally the commanders of the Union army knew that an attack was indeed a real prospect.

Fraley Field was thee spot, where all of the bloodshed that was to become Shiloh, started, and to stand in the field and try to imagine what it felt like to realize that the entire Confederate army was on its way is amazing. I can only imagine what those men from the Union Patrol felt like. I can’t imagine what the Confederate pickets felt like either. To know that they would be the first ones to fire shots on that fateful day must’ve been incredible and incredibly frightening all at the same time. To be the lead line in the charge must have been extremely nerve wracking to say the least.

And to know that what those men felt in that field, was only the beginning of what many men would feel, in a somber two days near the Shiloh church.

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May 21st, 2008
By Arthur

Albert Sydney Johnston was the commander of the Army of Mississippi during the battle of Shiloh. General Johnston was actually commander of the U.S. Department of the Pacific in California, at the outbreak of the Civil War, and was approached by some Californians to take his army and go east to support the Union and help defeat the Confederacy. He resigned as commander of that department after learning of the secession of Texas from the union. Texas, although he wasn’t born there, he considered to be his home state and once they seceeded he felt obligated to join the Confederacy. He then headed to Richmond, Virginia and was appointed general by his friend, and president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis.

After Johnston’s subordinate generals lost Fort Donelson and Fort Henry, in the early part of 1862, Johnston made the move to organize his forces, along with General Beauregard’s who had now joined him, at Corinth, Mississippi. Corinth contained two key railroads for the confederacy at the time, and while Grant was amassing his forces near Pittsburgh Landing, and waiting on Don Carlos Buell’s army to arrive from Nashville, Johnston decided that now would be the perfect time for an attack on the Union army. Thus the stage was set for the Battle of Shiloh.

Once the battle had ensued Johnston came upon some of this forces gorging on food that they had found in the Union camps. By grabbing a cup, and declaring that that would be all of the spoils he would partake in for the morning, he led his army into battle. While most generals would direct troop movements from the rear of the battle, Johnston took it upon himself to lead the troops from horseback, thus putting himself in harm’s way, and it proved costly for him.

After seeing the many wounded troops on the battlefield, both Union and Confederate, Johnston ordered his own personal surgeon off to take care of them. In the meantime, with his surgeon away, he was struck in the popliteal artery by a minie ball that was most likely fired by a confederate. Not knowing the severity of his injury, he continued on, until one of his aides, Islam Harris, who was also the governor of Tennessee at the time, found him reeling in the saddle and asked if he was hurt. The Governor began to look for blood, and none was found at first. Upon removing the General’s boot however, they discovered it filled with blood.

The Governor removed the General from his horse, and drug him to safety down into a ravine, when at 2:30pm, after trying to get some brandy down the General’s throat, General Johnston was dead still possessing a tourniquet in his pocket that could have saved his life.

General Johnston’s death site is another area of Shiloh that had a feeling to it that I just cannot begin to describe. As you walk down into the ravine, the location of his death, there is a distinct feeling such as that at the sunken road. While I can’t describe the feeling, it is one that you never forget. General Johnston’s death was a huge blow to the Confederacy at the time, and some even blame his very death for the loss at Shiloh. Who knows how the battle might have turned out if General Johnston had lived.

The monument you see in this post is actually the location of where the general was wounded, and the plaque you see down in the ravine is the location of his death site, as pointed out by the Governor of Tennessee, who was there at the time of his death.

One incredible experience to be able to stand in that ravine, and wonder how the events that took place there, affected the outcome of the Shiloh battle.

We will never know!

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May 08th, 2008
By Arthur

Since I haven’t wrote a post about my Shiloh experience in quite some time–I figured why not write one today. I love writing these posts because when I sit down and go through the pictures again to get them ready for the post, and also when I’m writing the post, it takes me back to when we visited Shiloh and helps me relive that feeling over again. Now on with a little about Ross’ battery.

Ross’ battery consisted of six Parrot guns and were assigned to the Army of the Tennessee’s 4th division led by Stephen Hurlbut. They were organized mainly in Grand Rapids, Mi, but also had a some men join in Detroit as well. There captain was William H. Ross, thus the name Ross’ battery.

The Peach Orchard at Shiloh was a site that seen some of the most fierce fighting of the entire day. Though the Peach Orchard is treated as a separate area in the Shiloh park it still seen just as fierce of fighting as the Hornet’s Nest did on Sunday, April 6th. The Peach Orchard is actually due East of the Hornet’s Nest along the Sunken Road and was directly along the line that seen the bulk of the day’s fighting. This is where Ross’ battery was positioned on that fateful day.

They originally held a line in the middle of the Peach Orchard, but after the fierce fighting of the morning, and the ensuing Confederate advance, were pushed back to the North and took up a second position to continue trying to hold their line. Unfortunately for these gentleman that line didn’t hold and some were eventually captured after being surrounded in the late afternoon to early evening. General Beauregard himself, commander of the confederate army at that time, was actually wounded by this battery as he took it upon himself to lead the charge through them. There was more fighting over this battery than any battery on the field, and General Beauregard took it upon himself to address that particular issue.

Although the Peach Orchard now is hardly a peach orchard at all, because of the abundance of deer in the park who eat the trees, at the time the men talked about the “peach blossoms covering the ground like snow”. With the bullets flying through the air, and whipping through the peach trees, it caused the blossoms to float to the ground- even covering bodies at the time. The Park Service is actually trying to plant new peach trees in order to bring the orchard back to what it once was.

The Peach Orchard saw a lot of fighting, and Ross’ battery was instrumental in that fighting, and allowed time for Grant to build up his last line of defense. No matter how hard I try, I can still never imagine what it must’ve felt like to stand on that ground and fight. The things those men endured is just incredible.

The first picture you see in this post is a picture from the confederate side looking at the area where Ross’ battery was first positioned. The second picture is a picture of Ross’ battery in their first position of the day. The third picture is my ugly mug at the Ross’ batteries second position of the day, and the others I think all of you can figure out and enjoy!

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