Camp Cromwell goes to Shiloh

We drove from Vicksburg to Corinth in a day, well placed to get to Shiloh the next day.  We followed the back roads to see the real country you don't see from the Interstates & checked out some minor sites on the way.  At Corinth we found some of the old fortifications surviving in the woods around the town.  An interesting day, but not much worth blogging.

Our first stop at Shiloh was the interpretation centre where we picked up a pamphlet/guide to a drive around the battlefield.  Before we set off we caught Rangers' doing demos on loading & firing artillery & muskets.

This ranger with the coolest Tennessee accent went right through the drill of firing a cannon, including the roles of all the 10 crew & where they put the limber & horses.  He really knew his stuff.  Lots of food for thought re artillery rules.

This bloke was all kitted out as a Reb lucky enough to have a good rifle.  He demonstrated the loading & firing drill.  He fired two shots in 1 min 18 secs (I timed it).  But he was a new recruit for the summer season so still learning.  You could see 3 a minute from a veteran would be possible for a short time. 

The battlefield was made a reserve in the 1890's while vets were still around to help restore it & the whole field is in the National Park.   The woods are probably a bit more overgrown than in the battle, but still in the right places with the fields shaped as they were.  The self guided battlefield car-tour was brilliant.  The pamphlet & signs guided you from significant point to significant point with very informative interp panels at each point.  There are cannons placed in important battery locations (all genuine barrels, but on new carriages).

The interp panels were great.  They clearly showed what happened in front of them & exactly when & on which day.  Despite the complex nature of the battle with attacks & counterattacks generally going north on day 1 & then south on day 2 they made it all easy to understand. 

Here is the Confederate battery of 50 guns lined up to bombard the hornets nest from across the field south of it.

This is the view from the hornets nest to the south across the field.  You can't see the guns deployed in front of the trees on the other side, but they are there.

This is looking into the hornets nest.  Generally the woods are fairly free of undergrowth, but visibility distance is limited by the density of trunks.  We are thinking a lot about rules for fighting in woods.

As we followed the route around the battlefield the course of the battle emerged more clearly than in any book or doco.  The command & control problems in the woods must have been terrible.  Tactically, the random distribution of fields which were not mapped made following any order a lottery.  Many units got cut down coming onto a field & a deadly crossfire.

After our tour we caught a 45 minute recreation movie/doco that was very well done, with the re-inactors doing their stuff on the original battlefield.

As long time Grantophile, I already had a good grasp of the battle & there were no surprises, but there really is nothing like being there.  It was a chaotic battle for everyone but Grant.  With pandemonium all around he calmly plugged the gaps & played for time while he built a wall of guns & men the Rebs were never going to get past.Then he "whipped 'em tomorrow".

Not all battlefields are great to visit - often they are just another patch of ground like any other in the vicinity, but this is one of the best. 
- The terrain is important. 
- It had a lot of complex movement. 
- It is very well preserved. 
- It has by far the best interpretation laid on of any battlefield I've been to.
- It's free. 
- And the good guys won.
Nothing not to like.