Had a nice lazy day, up late, sit down full breakfast followed by a guided tour of the civil war battlefield at Shiloh. It was quite a bloody affair causing the most casualties from any battle in North America. Initially there were about 90,000 combatants equal Union & Confederate numbers, with the Union receiving 18,000 reinforcements. About 24,000 casualties, dead, wounded & missing in total for both sides. The Union armies were camped by the river expecting to march to Corinth, a major rail & river hub that the Confederates had dug in. However the Confederate army marched undetected to engage them at Shiloh. The battle raged over 2 days fought in fields and forest over a large area. Artillery & gunboats were used. In short the Confederates surprised the Union & drove them back the Pittsburgh Landing with their backs to the river & swamp. The Confederates stopped at dusk thinking they had won and expecting to mop up and finish the next day. During the night 18,000 Union reinforcements turned up, the battle resumed and the Confederates routed. A turning point in the war and the major southern towns on the Mississippi fell shortly after.
It is a National Park with Ranger guides. The visitor centre gives you an overview and then you go on the tour around the large battlefield. The Confederate memorial shows Victory with defeat stealing the laurel wreath
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