"Shiloh Battlefield" Shiloh National Military Park by Ewingjr98

The Battle of Shiloh, also called the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, the first major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, took place on April 6 and April 7, 1862. The Confederate forces were under the command of Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard while the Union Army was led by Major General Ulysses S. Grant. On the first day of the battle only part of Grants army was at Pittsburg Landing, and the Confederates attacked, hoping to defeat his forces before the rest of the army linked up with the main force. The Union army held at at a sunken road, and area to become known as "the Hornets' Nest," throughout the day, buying time for Buell's forces to arrive from Nashville. Confederate General Johnston was killed in the first day of fighting, and his second in command, Beauregard, decided to hold off the final attack until the next day at dawn. Overnight Union General Buell arrived to reinforce Grant, and when Beauregard attacked the next morning, Union numbers were stronger than expected. Grant counterattacked and defeated the now outnumbered Confederates. This was the bloodiest battle in the US up until its time, and it featured the largest artillery barrage ever to occur on the North American continent.

Shiloh National Military Park is located about 10 miles from Savannah and is the area's top attraction. The park preserves nearly 4,000 acres of the site of the first major battle in the Western Theater of the Civil War. On the park grounds is Shiloh National Cemetery with the graves of 3,584 deceased Union soldiers and 2 dead Confederates. The Shiloh Indian Mounds is also located in the park near the Tennessee River at Pittsburg Landing. The battle was named after Shiloh Church, which was destroyed during the war, but a replica stands in its place. The battlefield has a nice visitors center despite the movie from the 1950s, and the driving tour is excellent. Admission to the park is $5 per car or family.