Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee.

In the late 1850′s, and into the early part of the 1860′s this particular spot was only noticeable to steamboat captains; it was an excellent rural refueling point for the steamboats of the time, and was one of the only places in the area that had an open piece of ground that enabled the refueling to take place.

1862 changed all that.

After the confederates lost Fort Donelson and Henry they amassed all of their troops to the south – at Corinth, Mississippi.  With Corinth being a major rail center, it was only logical for Halleck’s Union troops – partially lead by Grant – to start centralizing in an area not far from Corinth.  And since the Tennessee River was available, and provided a means for faster troop transport, this quiet rural steamboat refueling point became an area where many of the Union trips would disembark in preparation for an attack on Corinth.

Little did they know, that this refueling point – this troop drop-off site – would also become a safe haven for the many men who would flee from the carnage brought on by the confederate surprise attack on April 6th, 1862.

When William “Bull” Nelson and his troops arrived on the opposite side of the Tennessee, on the evening of the 6th, they were shocked to see thousands and thousands of Union soldiers huddled against the shelter of the hillside – blocking the way for newly-arriving Union troops.  As a matter of fact, he was so taken aback by what he saw, that he instructed his troops – if one of the cowards held them up – to run their sabor through ‘em.

As the evening of April 6th wore on this quiet refueling point turned into a shelter for the scared, scarred, broken, and injured men.  A quiet rocky hillside had turned into an area of complete chaos.

And it was not over.

As the night rolled on, reinforcements crossed the river, and entered the battle at Pittsburgh Landing; they mixed in with the stragglers huddled there and proceeded to prepare themselves for a counter-attack the next day.  Pittsburgh landing, once a refueling point; once a location for the scared and injured to hide,  had now become the backdrop for Grant’s last stand, and provided an area for fresh troops to join in the eventual Union counter-attack and victory.

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It’s hard for me to imagine the actual scene the night of the 6th, considering that – in order for visitors to appreciate this particular place – there is a concrete path that leads to the location.  If you stand down on the landing, however, and look back up the road it becomes more clear just what this hillside would’ve looked like on April 6th;  it is easy to understand how this point became a place for troop disembark, and also a place where they would seek shelter from the onslaught they were facing.  The ironry of the whole thing, though, is that the very reasons that troops sought refuge here, were the very same reasons that it became an excellent place to assemble the counter-offensive.

Pittsburgh Landing was the first thing we visited during our Shiloh trip, and I remember it well.  Trying to imagine steamboats anchored there – for refueling, or for troop deployment – is a hard thing to do.  Looking around, though, it becomes clear to the eye that this was one of the only places along the Tennessee that would allow for such activities.

I can’t begin to imagine what it would’ve felt like to be on the Landing that night;  to have been one of the soldiers seeking shelter here  knowing that just over the hill was pure carnage; or to be a soldier of Bull Nelson’s arriving at the landing during the death and destruction, and seeing first hand what could be waiting for you at the crest of the hill; being able to see the sure terror in many of the soldiers’ eyes.

It is now a quiet and solemn place – right next to the cemetery – but at one point was a thoroughfare of death, destruction, and then, ultimately, a place for jubilation after the Union victory.

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I think anyone who writes a blog, or writes anything, goes through this from time to time.  You write something, and your immediate fear is that no one will see it; no one will read it.  Or you set out to write about something you’re very passionate about, and feel like nothing is coming back to you in return.

Honestly, for me anyway, I’m happy if only one person reads a posts I write.  Now I realize that I’m generating a little more traffic then that, but I am honestly happy with only one person reading something I write.  As long as what I write reaches one more person, I figure I’ve accomplished my mission.

With those points in mind, I have had two comments on this site that astounded me.  Awhile back I wrote a post about Albert Sydney Johnston.  General Johnston was killed at Shiloh, and because of my visit there, I wrote a post about him.  Imagine my surprise, when I had comments left by two of his relatives:  A Great Great Grandson from Wisconsin, and a Great Grand Nephew from Gloucestershire, England.

The firt comment was left months ago, and surprised the heck out of me.  The second comment surprised me even more, though.  Mr Johnston, the Great Great Nephew of General Johnston left me his comment just a few days ago.  He discovered my post while he was doing some research on antler art.  Apparently antler art is much more of an American craft, so not much information is available in England.  If I would have thought about it,  I would have directed him to Rick;  he’s the expert in antler art.  But anyway, an antler art search led him to our site, and in the process he discovered my General Johnston post.  As he said in his email to me “the odds of  finding your post were about 80 billion to one.”  Apparently, it was just meant to be.

Mr. Johnston left me a very nice comment about my post, and we have also conversed back and forth through email as well.  (He’ s a hunter too!).  I can’t tell you how much it means to me that these two gentleman, not only left the comments, but also truly appreciated my post.

I thank both of them for stopping by, and I encourage them to stop back anytime they wish.  It definitely feels good to write about something your passionate about, and get feedback as to what kind of an impact it had on someone.

I hope it’s a trend that continues.

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The William Manse George cabin is located at the north end of the Peach Orchard at Shiloh. What makes this cabin so special you ask? Well, what makes this cabin special is the simple fact that it was a “witness” to the Shiloh battle. This is the only structure on the current day battlefield that was actually in existence when the battle took place. If you look closely, you can even still see the bullet holes in the wood slats of the structure.

At one point the cabin was actually open to visitors, but is now boarded up because of age. Plus, to be honest I was a little afraid of what might be hiding inside. You never know what you could encounter inside a structure such as the George Cabin.

I have to be honest as well and tell you that I didn’t quite appreciate the cabin when I was there, because I didn’t know much about it. The wife and I wondered if it was there when the battle took place, but I hadn’t heard or read anything about the structure until I got back from our Shiloh trip. That is when I started digging into its history and found out about the presence of the structure during the battle. Imagine my surprise when I looked closer at our pictures and noticed the bullet holes in the wood slats. If I only knew then what I know now, I would have probably taken a little more time at the cabin.

I tried to dig up a little more history about the cabin, but honestly came to a dead end. I couldn’t find much history associated with it. I think just the simple fact of knowing that the structure was a witness to the battle is good enough for me, and being able to have stood exactly where it was on the battlefield, and know about the events that took place around it is enough for me.

Imagine if this cabin could talk, what it would say. Imagine what sights and horrors it has witnessed. I’m sure it saw its share of valor as well as its share of bloodshed. A truly timeless structure that I hope remains on the battlefield for some time to come.

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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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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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