SHILOH NATIONAL MILITARY PARK - SHILOH, TENNESSEE - FEB 8, 2025

Yesterday, we drove to Shiloh, TN to visit Shiloh National Military Park. 

The park commemorates the April 6-7, 1862, battle that raged around Shiloh Church and Pittsburg Landing. There were more than 23,000 casualties.  The battle was the largest engagement in the Mississippi Valley campaign during the Civil War.  Currently, the park has over 5,200 acres, and was established by Congress in 1894. 

People often ask Steve and me why we visit Civil War sites, whether battle sites, historical buildings, or cemeteries.  The short answer is, "so we don't forget our American history."  We go to remind ourselves how many men, and women, gave their lives in the fight for freedom, freedom from slavery, and whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states.  

We go to honor the dead, to remember that freedom isn't free.  We seek knowledge about our past, so that history is not destined to repeat itself.  During the Civil War our country was torn in two.  Brother fighting against brother.  We cannot forget.

Stepping into a National Cemetery is always a solemn experience.  I always feel as if those buried there are reminding us of what they lost in order that the country could gain a more civilized union.  I wish them peace and I thank them.




Comments

  1. marta andersonFebruary 10, 2025 at 5:18 AM

    Love the pics. What a strange time in our history and only in more recent years have I began to understand the horror of what it feels like to live in a divided country. May we regain unity & may peace and decency prevail. Love the update!

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