POSITION UPDATE - FLORENCE, ALABAMA

As you know, we broke down the day before Thanksgiving.  We got out of the yard yesterday, December 2.  The total time for repairs was only 4 days. The pricetag could have been worse.  Well, there you go.  We are done with that episode and hopefully, we make it through the rest of this cruise without any further mechanical issues. 

We had an interesting time where we were, however.  I have described how we did not merely sit idle by, but rather explored the area in the courtesy car provided to us by Grand Harbor Marina.  We visited, Savannah, TN, Iuka, MS, Tupelo, MS, Memphis, TN, Crump, TN, Counce, TN, Corinth, MS, and all the little places in between. 

We also met some really nice folks, like Garth and Kathy on a boat called Algonquin, and Jerry and Jenny on another Roughwater 41 called Sweetgrass.  All wonderful and interesting folks we enjoyed meeting very much.

For the next couple weeks, we will be traveling on the Tennessee River on our way up to Chattanooga, TN.  We have been told that, if we thought the Cumberland River was something, the Tennessee is like the Cumberland on steroids.  So, how can we not go?  It's always hard to imagine where you may be many years from now, but travelling up the Tennessee River on a boat is not something I can clearly imagine so we have to take advantage of this time.  We are here.  So, let's go.

Those black spots at the top of the tree in center are bald eagles.

At present, we are in Florence, Alabama.  We got here late yesterday afternoon.  After all the rain we had during the last week or so, the lake levels are rather high so the dams are spilling and causing a significant increase in the current on the nose as we head UP river.  I think we barely made 5 knots for the better part of all day yesterday.  So, it was a long 37 miles from Iuka.

When we got here, we hit the town and enjoyed what the locals call First Friday.  This is an evening street festival that includes music, and lots of street vendors.  The restaurants and stores stay open late.  It clearly reminded us of Art Walk in Fort Myers, FL. 

Florence is in the Muscle Shoals area of Alabama which is known for great music. Many of the studio musicians for some of the greatest acts in history came from the Muscle Shoals area including, but not limited to, The Swampers.

We encountered this band playing on Court Street that was a Christian Rock band called Fervent Worship.  Their music was pretty good.  Their message was very religious.  Then there was the crowd.  I have seen this sort of thing on TV before, but I have never personally witnessed anything like it.  When the music was playing, a large crowd of folks in the street right in front of the band swayed back and forth with their arms in the air just like you see on the religious TV stations on Sunday mornings.  It was good, though.  There was not a single dirtbag among the crowd, and everyone seemed content.  There was absolutely nothing but good feelings.  But, it was almost scary that folks who look just like us and who are seemingly otherwise completely normal got such a religious charge on with the music. 

After we had had enough of the revival style music in the street, we headed back to the marina and found that the upstairs bar and grill was still open so we went up.  What we found up there was the extreme opposite of what we witnessed dancing in the street.  At the bar upstairs, there were blues musicians going at it all loud and bawdy.  The booze was flowing and there was a lot of laughing, commaraderie, and carrying on.    We ended up staying really late and closing the bar with the locals who own the place.  (YES, WE ARE "CLOSERS" IN ALABAMA, TOO...HA!  THAT MAKES US "MULTI-STATE CLOSERS" - PLEASE LET LINDA AND CECILY KNOW WE WILL NEED AMENDED "CLOSER" HATS)

Due to the extended party call last night, we will stay in Florence another day and see what this very cool city has to offer.  I am aware that the house where Hellen Keller grew up is here, and there is some interesting archetecture to view.  And, there is a rather famous musician playing at the marina tonight.  So, we'll check it out and report more later.

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The next day we woke up really late.  I think Brenda was asked what time she woke up this morning and she replied, "This afternoon."  So, I had some time to get some boat chores done.  Then, we hit the road in the courtesy car and visited a couple of the recommended sites in Florence. 

We had lunch at this place in the downtown area.  The sandwiches were great and we met a nice girl who attends the University of Northern Alabama which is in Florence.  The school is pretty small, but has apparently just made the decision to go to Division 1 in athletics which is a huge undertaking.  Ultimately, this will mean a big hit in terms of income and in terms of school population.  In the interim, however, it is a really nice place to go to school.  Their mascot is the Lion and there are a pair that actually live in a special enclosure on the campus.  This time, we did not get to see them, but will probably stop and visit on the way back.  Florence is really into their Lions.  There are painted paw tracks on the streets, on the walls and even in the courthouse.

In fact, Alabama, in general, is really into sports - but not just any sports - COLLEGE FOOTBALL - is where it's all at.  If it ain't red, you ain't wearin' it on Saturdays.  The expression, "Get a rope" originally thought to have evolved in connection with the notion that reasonable salsa could come from New York City, actually emerged when a travelling business man once (and only once) suggested a professional football program would be good for Alabama.  No way, Jose.  College football is the rule here.  Actually, not just college football, but all college sports. 

Then we went off to visit Hellen Keller's birthplace which is across the river in Tuscumbia, Alabama. 

 I had never bothered to learn much about this amazing woman before.  Of course I have heard of her and of the multitude of jokes that have spread so far and wide.  Really, however, this woman is no joke and the things she accomplished in her life for herself and for the folks who endure her plight - the blind and the deaf - are truly astonishing. 

Helen Keller was not born blind or deaf; instead, it was not until she had a serious illness which may have been meningitis or scarlet fever, did she lose her hearing and her sight. However, she overcame these obstacles and became a world famous activist, a lecturer and an author.  She is the first deaf-blind person to earn a bachelor's degree.  The essence of her story is how, throughout her life she learned to communicate, and the things she did with that ability.

After spending some time visiting the Helen Keller Museum, we moved on to something that does not appear in too many crusing guides - the Coon Dog Cemetary.

This place was introduced to us in concept in the movie, "Sweet Home Alabama".  So, when it came up on our radar screen so to speak, we just had to go.  The road out there is long and you really get the feeling you are way out in the sticks.  Then you turn off the main road and you keep going and going and going, further and further out into the middle of nowhere and then you see  the sign telling you the Coon Dog Cemetary is only a couple miles away.  Then the road winds on and on and on.  It was getting dark.  We were driving a courtesy van that was in the shop when we arrived in Florence.  We had driven the van for a couple hours the first day and then a couple hours the second day before heading out to the cemetary and had not seen the gas guage move.  So we were concerned.  Nevertheless, we headed on out not knowing if we were going to encounter some bearded toothy feller with a shotgun.  Anyways, we found the cemetary just as the sun was about to set.

We were unable to determine if this place is private or public property, although there was a sign with a phone number to call.  However, what we did discover is this really beautiful place where only Coon Dogs are allowed to be burried.  What is a Coon Dog?  Glad you ask.

A Coon Dog is a variety of scent hound.  This hound was named after its original purpose: hunting raccoons.  The hunters do not eat raccoon (at least not here in Alabama).  The sport of coon hunting however involves cutting the dogs loose and allowing they to chase raccoons up trees.  Coon Dogs are developed and chosen for their keen sense of smell, the ability to track, chase and corner any manner of animal independent of human commands.  Most importantly, however, they have to have the ability to follow an animal both on the ground and when it takes to the trees. A good coonhound will bark and keep its prey treed until the hunters arrive.  The folks who engage in this sort of hunting apparenly have great admiration for their animals and hold them in ridiculously high esteem.  Here, they even have their own cemetary.

Well, we had another great evening at the bar and grill at the marina.  This evening, we enjoyed more wonderful music and met some new friends, and continued to learn about this place and its people. We'll probably stop here one more time on our way back down the Tennessee River.  In the mean time, we headed out of Florence with some beautiful weather.  We are now anchored in a nice little embayment where we will stay for at least a night if not more before continuing up the river towards Chattanooga.  Next stop will be either Decatur or Huntsville.

First, however, we engaged the biggest lock we will see on this entire cruise.  It is one of the biggest locks in the world - the Wilson Lock and Dam.  The photos really do not do it justice.  The lift was a little less than 100 feet (due to higher than normal pool levels). Not withstanding the turbulence you can imagine when over 50,000,000 gallons of water go sloshing in and out, it was a smooth ride and a great experience.

ELVIS IN TUPELO AND IN MEMPHIS (GRACELAND)

We have seen Houston Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Smithsonian, the Liberty Bell and several other "monuments" of national stature.  However, as far as Brenda is concerned, these must necessarily pale in comparison to a visit to the birthplace of her musical icon and hero, Elvis Presley.

While staying at Grand Harbor Marina, we had the use of a courtesy car and thought it convenient to take the car and drive 70 miles south into Mississippi to the small town of Tupelo.  As they say, most of us have heard of Graceland.  Most of us know of Elvis Presley's metoric rise to fame and stardome.  Some of us have some idea of how it all ended for the Kiing of Rock and Roll.  But, I suspect few of us know about where it all began. 

Elvis was born in Tupelo in January 1935.  He only lived there until he turned 13 at which time his family packed up and moved to Memphis.  However, and despite the relatively short part of his life spent in Tupelo, Tupelo is the heart and soul of the inspiration that made Elvis who and what he was. 

Elvis's father, uncle and grandfather built the small house Elvis and his twin brother Jesse were born in.  Times were hard then and it might be said that the Presleys moved just about every time the rent was due.  Nevertheless, during the 13 years Elvis lived in Mississippi, he attended church every Sunday.  It was here that Elvis was first exposed to the Gospel music that is said to have influenced his musical style.  It was in Tupelo that Elvis was first exposed to bluesmen in the shake rag community community where he lived.  Moreover, his family listened to locally broadcast country music radio programs which also influenced his career.

At age 10, while still living in Tupelo, Elvis made his first public radio broadcast.  He stood on a chair in the radio studio and sang "Old Shep" in a youth talent contest.  He won second place.

At age 11, Elvis' mother took Elvis to a hardward store in Tupelo to buy a 22 caliber rifle Elvis wanted.  Gladys Presely wisely persuaded Elvis to consider a guitar instead.  He tried it out and decided to purchase it.  He took guitar lessons from his pastor. 

In 1948, the family moved to Memphis where Elvis' father hoped he could make a better life for his family, thus ending Elvis Presley's time in Tupelo.

The house where Elvis was born was constructed by Elvis' father, uncle and grandfather with $180 that Vernon Presely borrowed from his boss.  It is a two room affair that is quite small and which consists of a bedroom and a kitchen.  The entire house was lit by two single lightbulbs.  However, the family was too poor to afford to connect the home to electrical service, so they survived using oil lamps.  The house has been restored and stands in its original location.  It appears to be furnished, but the furnishings are not original.  Vernon sold everything when the family moved to Memphis.

When the family moved to Memphis, they did so in a 1939 green Plymouth sedan, a replica of which is displayed on the premises.

Elvis's childhood church has been moved to the park.  It is here that Elvis was first exposed to the rich Southern gospel that became a staple of his musical prowess.  The church was of The Assembly of God Pentecostal.  You have to sit in there to imagine what it must have been like in the summer in Tupelo when more than 60 worshipers crowded inside to pray and sing for most of the day. 

Elvis returned to Tupelo often after his career began to take off.  He always envisioned a chapel where one could go to meditate.  Well, with the generous donations of many followers in the area, such a chapel was constructed.  The stained glass windows are a testament to the love of Elvis followers.

We very much look forward to travelling to Memphis where we plan to spend the better part of an entire day visiting the Graceland Museum.  After visiting Tupelo, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Country Music Hall of Fame, a visit to Graceland will complete the Elvis cycle and Brenda will certainly feel complete.

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Graceland -

Two days later, we hopped in the car and took off to Memphis, Tennessee, a nearly 100 mile drive.  Our mission:  Graceland. For an Elvis fan, this is Mecca, and going to Graceland is like the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca.  For the rest of us, it's a beautiful ride across some of Northern Mississippi and into Western Tennessee.

Graceland is the name of the house Elvis bought for him and his family in 1956, when Elvis was just 21 years old.  If you can believe this, he paid $100,000 for the house (he later spent more than twice that building a racquetball court on his property.

The house itself is not that big, but the amuzement park surrounding it takes up several acres.  Across the street is the "Elvis Complex", so to speak, where you purchase your tickets, visit one of several cafes, browse through several gift shops, have your picture taken with the King, etc.  There are also two planes that Elvis used to travel in.  One is a small, high speed jet, and the other is like a small passenger plane.  The larger plane has 4 cabins including a bedroom in the back.  While in general, the planes are not so lavish compared to the jets superstars fly around in today, there is no mistaking that these were Elvis's planes.  I think it's the gold plated seat belt buckles that give it away.

Elvis used these planes when he went out on tour.  There is also a story about the time he realized young Lisa Marie had never seen snow.  He packed up the plane and flew to Colorado.  He and Lisa Marie played in the snow until she had had enough and then they all flew back to memphis.

There are at least two smaller gift shops/museums devoted to Elvis's fashion and clothing.  According to videos playing, Elvis loved clothes.  He did what he liked and liked what he did.  He was not a knowing trend setter.  It just happened.  One thing I found interesting was that, after Elvis met success, he never again wore jeans.  According to his dauther, he associated wearing jeans with being very poor and he had had just about enough of that.

Then there was the Elvis Car Museum where probably 15 of his cars were on display.  None, however, were as cool as his first: the pink Cadillac.  It's a 1955 Coup de Ville and it is sweet.  But, Elvis also had a big Lincoln, a couple Mercedes Benz, a Ferrari, and even a Harley Davidson motorcycle.  You've just got to see this to believe it.

What I enjoyed the most, however, was the house, itself.  Graceland is not as big as I thought it would be.  It is a "southern mansion looking like ranch house".  The tour begins in the front door.  Turn to the right and there is the living room.  To the left is another living/dining room, only it is more formal.  You have to understand that the decor was flashy 1970's.  It stands frozen in time and has remained unchanged since Elvis lived and died there.  On this floor is also the room where his parents lived.  Tourists are not permitted to go upstairs.  Legend has it, Elvis was a rather private person, and although he was always surrounded by friends and family in the home, he would go upstairs when he wanted privacy.  In fact, as the story goes, he would always come downstairs nicely dressed.  Nobody ever saw Elvis not nicely dressed.  He was definitely not a slob.
 

The tour then takes you downstairs to what some might call a basement.  This was actually a more informal living floor complete with a nicely appointed, although dated, kitchen and a couple more lounging areas including the Jungle Room.  Elvis added on the space that became the jungle room.  He liked animals and tropical things. 

After going downstairs, you come back up into a space that was devoted to business.  This is where Elvis's father and mother worked.  You can well imagine the amount of fan mail Elvis received.  He, or his entity, tried to respond whenever possible. 

The tour takes you out of the house and onto the grounds, to the Trophy Room, the Racquetball court, the pool, the horse stables, and the meditation garden.  Elvis and his immediate family are all burried in the meditation garden.  Again, contrary to his perceived elaborate and extreme nature, the grave sites are quite simple and elegant.

The Trophy Room (only a small part of it, actually)

This is in the racquetball building.  Elvis played on the piano
shown in this picture the morning he died.

Because we purchased the "see all" tour, we got to visit a "bonus room."  This room was set up to display the extensive charity that Elvis performed.  Whether the cause was cancer or canned food for the hungry, Elvis lent a helping hand to those who needed it, and to those he cared about.  Elvis's handlers described him as generous to the core.  He used to sing about walking a mile in another man's shoes, and according to those around him, never judged another soul.  Rather, Elvis was the guy with his mouth closed and his checkbook open.  We saw what had to have been thousands and thousands of checks written to all sorts of charitable causes, each of which bore his signature.  Certainly, Elvis had people who could have written these checks for him, but he chose to do it himself while sitting behind the desk he had made for himself.  Simple but elegant and functional.

Whatever Elvis meant to you, or to your parents, to me, as I believe he was to the people who knew him best, Elvis was a nice person with an extraordinary talent fueled by a true love of music.  I doubt he confided in aliens.  It is even less likely that he was one.  No.  Elvis was an extraordinary fellow who, unfortuantely, died way too young.  The person we should also feel for is Elvis's dad.  His wife died when she was only 42.  Elvis died when he was 42.  Elvis had a twin brother who died at birth.  Elvis's father died alone. 

Elvis had a wife, Percilla, and a daughter, Lisa Marie.  Today and together, they hold Elvis Presley Enterprises together.  This must be one hell of a marketing concern.  You can get things with Elvis's likeness printed on them that you might not expect.  However, when you float through the various gift shops on the compound, you cannot help but notice such things as Elvis chapstick, or Elvis shotglasses, Elvis pencils, and Elvis coffee mugs.  You name it, and you can find it with an image or likeness of Elvis on it. 

All in all, I learned a few interesting bits about the King that I didn't know.  For Brenda, I'm sure the pilgrimage put an exclamation point on some of the things she has always known about her favorite musician, and lent an image to many of the things she has read.  She must have experienced the buzz of recognition when standing in a room she knows was once inhabited by her musical hero.  It must have been very cool for her to experience this.  I am glad I was able to take Brenda to Graceland.

SHILOH BATTLEFIELD

While we have been awaiting the completion of repairs to our transmission, we have not sat idle by.  Rather, we have taken advantage of the very inexpensive use of the Grand Harbor Marina courtesy car to travel around this beautiful countryside to visit certain sites of significance or of interest.  We have traveled as far north as Savannah, Tennessee, as far west as Memphis, Tennessee, and as far south as Tupelo, Mississippi.  We have learned much about this part of our great country.  However, one of the more intriguing things we have learned was of the Civil War action that took place just a few miles north of us at Shiloh.  Here's the story.  Entire books have been written of this battle, so I will cover it generally here so the gist is taken fairly away.

Outside of Savannah, Tennessee in a little corner of the state known as Pickwick Landing, on 4200 acres overlooking the Tennessee River, sits the site of the Civil War's first, and perhaps bloodiest, major battle in the western theater. 

The battle took place on April 6th and 7th, 1862 at Shiloh.  It was also known as The Battle of Pittsburg Landing.  This battle represented a serious test of General U.S. Grant's mettle as a commander and as a man.  While thousands of men died here, this is also the place where the highest ranking American ever killed in combat died, General Albert Sidney Johnston. 

Both Union and Confederate commanders realized that the key to the West was the rail center in Corinth, Mississippi, less than 50 miles to the southwest. Thus, large contingents of both armies were headed that way.  But, before they got to Corinth, their destinies declared they would meet first in Shiloh.

The battle began on April 6, 1862 when a platoon sized contingent of Federal soldiers was out on patrol in the early morning hours.  You could say their encounter with the Confederates was like walking into or stepping on a bee hive.  With no warning, out of their hiding places stormed a massive group of Confederates who came smashing down upon and wiped out the Federal patrol at daybreak on April 6. The rest of the Confederate soldiers soon stormed out of the woods and assailed the forward Federal camps around Shiloh Church. Grant and his nearly 40,000 men present for duty were surprised by the onslaught.

Despite having achieved surprise, The Confederate troops led by General Albert Sydney Johnston soon became just as disorganized as the Federals.  They were inexperienced and had not received any real training as soldiers.  As a result, the Confederate attack lost coordination as corps, divisions, and brigades became irretrievably entangled. The Federals soon rallied, however, and bitter fighting consumed “Shiloh Hill.”

This is the Shiloh Meeting House, the log Methodist Church that gave the battle its name

Throughout the morning, however, Confederate brigades slowly gained ground, forcing Grant's troops to give way.  The day's fighting could be accurately described as a series or succession of defensive stands at a series of locations on the battle field all the way back to where General Grant made his last stand of the day before hostilities concluded that afternoon.  These locations included Shiloh Church, the Peach Orchard, Water Oaks Pond, and an impenetrable oak thicket battle survivors named "the Hornets' Nest."

The Hornet's Nest

During all the fighting at Pitsburg Landing, America lost one of her most acclaimed sons. In the middle of the afternoon, as he supervised an assault on the Union's left flank, General Albert Sydney Johnston was struck in the right leg by a stray bullet.  Apparently, an artery took the brunt of the hit, and General Johnston bled to death. According to reports prepared after the fighting, the wound itself was not fatal.  But, General Johnston refused to leave his men or mount, and continued to lead on horseback.  Ultimately, he became too weak, had to be removed from his horse, and bled to death in the mud at Shiloh.  He was the highest ranking American soldier ever to die in battle.  Johnston's death left General P.G.T. Beauregard in command of the Confederate army.

By the end of the first day, General Grant's battered divisions had been pushed quite a ways back from where they started that faithful day.  Fighting ended at nightfall (around 4:30 pm) and General Grant's armies retired to a position extending west from Pittsburg Landing where massed artillery and rugged ravines protected their front and sides. During the night, something happened that changed the face of this conflict.

Bloody Pond:  Throughout the battle, soldiers of both sides came here to drink and bathe their wounds.  Both men and horses died at the pond, their blook staining the water red.

Duncan Field - Union Troops defended this position for seven hours on April 6 before finally giving ground.  They retook it in the counter attack the next day.

The artillery along this ridge marks the final position of Grant's line on April 6.  From this front, the Federals launched their counterattach on April 7.

Rhea Field - Exposed to converging fire from the Federal troops defending Shiloh Church, Confederate units here sustained devastating losses in repeated attachs across Shiloh Branch on April 6.  The 6th Mississippi Infantry suffered 70% casualties.

Ruggles' Battery - When infantry attacks failed against the Hornet's Nest (the location where parts of three Federal Divisions stubbornly defended themselves, and so called because of the stinging shot and shell they faced there), the Confederates concentrated 11 batteries of artillery to bombard the position, allowing their infantry to encircle and capture General Benjamin Prentis and nearly 2100 Union soldiers.

General Grant described the night as follows: 

"During the night rain fell in torrents, and our troops were exposed to the storm without shelter. I made my headquarters under a tree a few hundred yards back from the river bank. My ankle was so much swollen from the fall of my horse the Friday night preceding, and the bruise was so painful, that I could get no rest. The drenching rain would have precluded the possibility of sleep, without this additional cause. Some time after midnight, growing restive under the storm and the continuous pain, I moved back to the log house on the bank. This had been taken as a hospital, and all night wounded men were being brought in, their wounds dressed, a leg or an arm amputated, as the case might require, and everything being done to save life or alleviate suffering. The sight was more unendurable than encountering the rebel fire, and I returned to my tree in the rain."  The Battle of Shiloh by U. S. Grant, From The Century Magazine, Vol. XXIX, Feb., 1885

Dill Branch Ravine:  Wooden US Gunboats, Lexington and tyler, anchored opposite the mouth of Dill Branch to support General Grant's defense of Pittsburg Landing.  These naval assets lobbed shells into Confederate positions all night long, every 15 minutes.  You can only imagine what effect that had on the moral of the Southerners.

Pittsburg landing - General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio arrived here on the night of April 6-7 to reinforce Grant.

The Union reinforcements arrived all night long and crossed the river at Pittsburg Landing down by Dill Branch Ravine.  Confederate General Beauregard was totally unaware of the arrival of these reinforcements.  He was probably having breakfast planning to finish off Grant and his army when, much to his suprise, it was Grant and his Army that counterattacked first thing in the morning.  The fight was on again.  Unfortunately, now the Confederates were badly outnumbered by fresh Union troops and equipment.
Throughout the day, the combined Union armies, now numbering over 54,500 men, hammered Beauregard's depleted ranks, now mustering barely 34,000 troops.  The Confederates were outmanned and out gunned.  Union soldiers skillfully employed artillery in a number of configurations including morter barges, big guns firing exploding shells, and big guns firing grape shot.  Clearly, the Northerners used all destructive means at their disposal to push the Confederates all the way back to, and beyond, the point where hostilities began the previous day.

Despite mounting desperate counterattacks, the exhausted Confederates could not stem the flow of the Union tide and were forced all the way back to Shiloh Church.  Beauregard, not wanting to lose all of his army, skillfully withdrew his outnumbered command and returned to Corinth. Fortunately, Grant saw things similarly and did not press the pursuit. The battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, was over. 

General Grant describes the field of battle:
"Shiloh was the most severe battle fought at the West during the war, and but few in the East equaled it for hard, determined fighting. I saw an open field, in our possession on the second day, over which the Confederates had made repeated charges the day before, so covered with dead that it would have been possible to walk across the clearing, in any direction, stepping on dead bodies, without a foot touching the ground. On our side Federal and Confederate were mingled together in about equal proportions; but on the remainder of the field nearly all were Confederates. On one part, which had evidently not been plowed for several years, probably because the land was poor, bushes had grown up, some to the height of eight or ten feet. There was not one of these left standing unpierced by bullets. The smaller ones were all cut down."  (Ibid.)

In his post battle report, General U.S. Grant stated the following:

"The Confederates fought with courage at Shiloh, but the particular skill claimed I could not, and still cannot, see; though there is nothing to criticise except the claims put forward for it since. But the Confederate claimants for superiority in strategy, superiority in generalship, and superiority in dash and prowess are not so unjust to the Federal troops engaged at Shiloh as are many Northern writers. The troops on both sides were American, and united they need not fear any foreign foe."  (Ibid.)

23,746 men lost their lives in two days of bloody battle on the fields of Shiloh in 1862. Many, many thousands more were wounded, and many were missing. At the time, Shiloh was both the bloodiest day and the bloodiest two days in American history. And never forget, these were Americans fighting against Americans.

That's all for now......Actually, that's more than enough.