Shiloh

Today is the 153rd anniversary of the two-day battle of Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing. Above is the meeting house "Shiloh" from whence came the name of the bloody battle. Grant was encamped here, in my book one of the characters writes home that it was a pleasant morning so he stopped in the little meeting house. He said that they were encamped there doing nothing-just waiting. They could see the enemy campfires at night, he wrote, and their pickets ran into the Union pickets, exchanging fire. At the end of the letter he mentions the name of the little church. Shiloh The next day hell was unleashed on earth when the Rebels attacked, but the following day the tide turned however it remains one of the bloodiest of battles. Grants was severely criticized for not entrenching, but he believed in always moving forward and entrenching meant being static. That he was military genius had not been established at the time.