A Visit to Shiloh National Military Park, Horse and Buggy, and More Moonshine

Thursday, October 3, 2019
Days 48 on the Loop – Grand Rivers, KY (Green Turtle Bay Marina) (0 miles)

 Arrived at the Hampton Inn close to the Shiloh Battlefield around 6:00 pm on Wednesday evening after a three hour drive from Green Turtle Bay Marina.    

 My original plan had been to go to the Shiloh Visitors' Center on Wednesday and then spend Thursday touring the battlefield, but my unexpected trip to urgent care meant that I arrived too late for the visitor center.   Instead, I had dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant and then turned in.

 The NPS Shiloh Battlefield National Military Park had an excellent film that gave a really good overview of the two-day battle.   

You then go on a driving tour.  The Park Service provides a very good map, and there is also an App that you can use that provides more background, including some very good video clips.  Hint.... Download that in advance and then open it and download the map and media since the connection at the historic site is quite poor.  Unfortunately, the App and the NPS tour are not in the same order, so you have to hunt around a little bit.  There is a place at each stop to pull over, so it is not a big deal.

 I did have one strange encounter.  I walked into the park's bookstore and was greeted by a man working there (possibly a volunteer).  He asked where I was from, and I said "California."  He said "oh" and turned and walked away.   Wasn't sure what to make of that.   

The battle took place over two days (April 6 to April 7, 1862).  3,482 people were killed outright over the two days, and many more (of the 16,420 that were wounded) likely died of their wounds because of infection.


There are monuments to each of the regiments that fought during the battle and it is interesting, and sobering, to tour the location. 


Monument to the Confederate War Dead

Plaques provide context to help you understand what you are looking at.





There are 229 canons around the park.  All but two are original.


Many plaques have a helpful timeline at the bottom to identify where you are in the sequence of the two-day battle


I took a detour on the way back to the marina to revisit the Casey Jones Distillery as Diane had expressed an interest in getting a bottle of moonshine.  😁

On the drive back I also came upon a few horse and buggies.   



There are a number of active Amish and Mennonite communities in Tennessee.  

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