Shiloh National Military Park
After the fall of Fort Donelson , Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant moved his army up the Tennessee River, where he awaited reinforcement. Unannounced, Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston struck first in a surprise attack that drove Union forces 2 miles toward the river.
The intense battle raged all day, and Johnston was mortally wounded near the Peach Orchard. Grant's reinforcements, the Army of the Ohio commanded by Don Carlos Buell, arrived during the night. The next day the outnumbered Confederates, commanded by Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, were driven back. In the afternoon they retreated to Corinth, Miss.
More than 109,000 soldiers, most of them inexperienced recruits, battled at this site. After 2 days 23,746 were dead, wounded or missing, making the Battle of Shiloh the bloodiest fight since the war's beginning. It also was a turning point in Union strategy; Grant said afterwards, “I gave up all idea of saving the Union except by complete conquest.”
Union dead, originally interred on the battlefield, were subsequently moved to the national cemetery at Pittsburgh Landing. The Confederate dead still lie in mass burial trenches, five of which are marked.
Points of interest on the battlefield are marked, and a 12-mile auto tour has 20 stops with wayside exhibits. Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark features several preserved prehistoric mounds.
Also part of the park, Corinth Battlefield's visitor center, Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, features interactive exhibits and multimedia presentations that examine topics such as slavery, the military importance of railroads and Reconstruction. The center is 23 miles southwest of Shiloh Battlefield in Corinth, Miss.; phone (662) 287-9273.