Chasing Ghosts

By Mark W. Danielson

Still curious about the Civil War and having extra time in Memphis, I decided to visit the Civil War Interpretive Center in nearby Corinth, MS. This National Parks facility, which opened in 2004, does a great job of teaching why Corinth was so vital during the War. As a major railroad crossroads, it moved Confederate supplies as well as some 300,000 soldiers, making it a prime Union Army target.

In March, 1962, Maj Gen Ulysses S. Grant disembarked his Army of the Tennessee (named for the river, not the state), at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Under strict orders not to engage the enemy until reinforced by Maj Gen Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio, he established base camp on the river’s bluff and posted forward camps around a log church called Shiloh Meeting House. Aware of these orders, Supreme Confederate Commander in the West, General Albert Sydney Johnston, planned to smash Grant’s army prior to Buell’s arrival. On the morning of April 6, Johnston led his Army of the Mississippi, 44,000 strong, to the Union camps at Shiloh Church. Detected by a forward Union patrol, (AKA “picket”), Grant’s army of 40,000 hastily assembled to meet their attackers. The resulting battles lasted throughout the day with the advantage going to the Rebels. Overnight, two miracles favored the Union: Union Gen Buell’s army arrived and Confederate Gen Johnston bled to death from a stray bullet. In the morning, Johnston’s replacement, Gen P.G.T. Beauregard, mounted an offensive to finish off the Union Army, unaware that the Union Army was now 54,500 men strong compared to his 34,000. By the end of the day, Beauregard had withdrawn his troops to Corinth. The Union did not pursue.

In the aftermath of the two day battle, over 7,000 men lay dead and another 18,000 were wounded or missing. This stunned America, as it was more casualties than she had suffered as a united nation during all her previous wars. After being reinforced by a third army, the Union pressed its attack on Corinth, capturing the city on May 30th. On October 3rd and 4th, the Confederate Army launched an unsuccessful counter-attack on Corinth. When the smoke cleared, an additional 7,000 Union and Confederate soldiers lay dead.

In a nutshell, that’s the history behind both battles. Although today’s Corinth has considerable markers commemorating sites, all that is left of the original town is railroad tracks because whatever the retreating Confederates didn’t burn, the Union torched when they moved on. I found the Civil War Interpretive Center well worth the visit, but the town itself has no historical re-creations. On the other hand, you can easily spend all day taking in the stories at Shiloh Battlefield.

From Corinth, Shiloh Road follows the trail of the advancing Confederate army. With my anticipation building, I entered the park near Shiloh Church, and was stunned by the vast number of numerous markers, monuments, and cannons. Under a blue sky and a nearly deserted park, I reveled in walking the grounds, reading markers, visualizing battles, and stopping countless times in awe of the once blood-splattered woods and meadows. The Hornet’s Nest is a dense forest so named for its buzzing bullets. Newly planted trees now grow in The Orchard where some of the heaviest battles occurred. While admiring a Confederate mass grave, I heard heavy footsteps in the nearby woods. Staring into the forest, I imagined how impossible it would be for soldiers to silently make their approach 148 years ago. Then the Tom turkey revealed himself; a huge bird of at least forty pounds. Soon, his hen came running to him like Bo Derrick in the movie “10”, but with less grace. In other locations, squirrels were the ones trampling the fallen leaves. I saw no ghosts, but did feel the presence of many fallen soldiers. Most were kids when they died fighting their brothers. Shiloh Battlefield gives a real sense of proximity in which these battles were fought. Initial lines were separated by a few hundred yards. Then the cannon fire preceded the charge. Stepping over their fallen comrades, the soldiers merge. When too close for bullets, bayonets and swords pierce and slash. My visit here was solemn and humbling. Dreams of these battles have disturbed my slumber ever since.

Our brief history as the United States of America is scarred by many battles, but none approach the magnitude or significance of our Civil War. More than anything, this war began over a division in economic structure. We must never forget this dark side of US history. Our nation is currently divided over politics, much as it was in 1862. When emotions run high, violence breaks out. Recently, a Louisiana couple was severely beaten, followed by several political slurs. As our economic woes continue, there is strong potential for more violence. As a nation, we cannot repeat our past mistakes. Every political leader agrees with this principle, and it is also the reason our National Parks maintain sights like Shiloh Battlefield and the Civil War Interpretive Center.

Southern Comfort

By Mark W. Danielson

Unanticipated changes in my work schedule gave me extra time in Memphis, Tennessee, so I went to the nearby Olive Branch, Mississippi, library with the intent of refining my next home’s design. Lacking any books on the subject, I was drawn to the April, 2010 edition of the Civil War Times; published in Leesburg, Virginia. I had never heard of this magazine, but it reaffirms that the South has never forgotten the Civil War. Like it or not, in the Deep South, elements of the Confederate flag remain integrated in many state flags.

Having once considered writing a Civil War period novel, I read this magazine with great interest. I have spent many years living in the South, and my father's mother's grandfather, Benjamin Nelson Pullen, fought with the Confederate Army under General Nathan Bedford Forrest (photo right). Benjamin survived the war, but his brother died in his arms at Chattanooga. Still, my only feeling for this war is sympathy for all concerned.

This issue of the Civil War Times was packed with articles on the South’s struggle, but also included one on Lincoln, quoting his November 19, 1863 Gettysburg Address: “Fourscore and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal . . .” (By the way, “fourscore” equals eighty years.) This article impressed me, as did these other snippets:

On September 23, 1862, Union Colonel Henry Sibley and his army battled seven hundred Sioux led by Chief Little Crow at Lake Wood. Plans are underway to set some land aside to honor the Sioux who were starving on the reservation.

On May 18, 1863, twenty-five black Union soldiers of the 1st Kansas and twenty white soldiers of the 2nd Kansas were foraging for food at Rader Farm, Missouri, when they were attacked by seventy Confederate guerillas led by Major Thomas Livingston. The black soldiers had laid down their arms to load corn on a wagon when the attack occurred. In response to the escaping Union soldiers’ testimony, hundreds of union soldiers descended upon the farm. After placing their soldiers’ mutilated bodies in the farm house, it was burned, as was the nearby town of Sherwood after they learned its townspeople participated in the attack.

The Federal government spent $123,864,915.00 on horses during the war. The Union Army used 825,762 horses between 1860 and 1865. Giesboro Depot, the Union’s largest mount facility, received 170, 654 horses between January 1864 to January 1866, costing one million dollars per day. (That ain’t no bull!)

A travel ad for Corinth, Mississippi, says, History is only half our story. For a look into their past, visit the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center.

Another ad sells the Confederate Military History, which boasts over 7,000 pages of Southern history, including essays such as The Background and Justification of Secession and The Conduct of the War by the Confederate Government.

Yet another ad for Harper’s Ferry where in 1859, Abolitionist John Brown seized the First Federal Arsenal with the intention of arming black slaves in Northern Virginia. Between the pages were numerous ads for battle recreations and replica firearms.

There was an article on The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, which yielded his widow $450,000.00, thirteen days before his death from throat cancer. Unable to speak, Grant gave his work to his friend and former Civil War adversary Simon Bolivar Buckner with a note stating, “I have witnessed since my sickness just what I have wished to see over time the war; harmony and good feeling between the sections. I have always contended that if there had been no body left but the soldiers, we would have had peace in a year.”

Former Confederate General James Longstreet lost favor with the South over his post-war statements, including, “The War was a grievous error.” As a commander of the post-war militia and state police, he was despised for using black police to counter violence during the Reconstruction.

An article on treason answers the question about how governments get people to join their armies to fight. Historically, what begins with rhetoric ends with intimidation, and the Civil War was no exception. This article discussed military executions on both sides. As with any war, soldiers must either kill the enemy or be killed by the enemy or their comrades. With desertion the serious problem in the Civil War, military executions were performed in front of hundreds of their peers for maximum effect. The article didn’t provide any statistics for the Confederate forces, but the Union reportedly executed 263 soldiers; 50% for desertion and 25% for murder.

Perhaps the biggest lesson from the Civil War Times is we must all learn from the past. This magazine did a nice job of unbiased reporting, offering historical fact and understanding. I agree with General Grant’s observation that friendliness prevails on both sides, but there is always room for more healing. There is nothing civil about this war, or any war. General Longstreet’s and Grant’s position was that we must come together as a nation. Their vision still prevails.