1962~ The Battle of Shiloh April 6-8, 1862

1962~ The Battle of  Shiloh April 6-8, 1862 

The Battle of Shiloh:

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. 

A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the West bank of the river. 

Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there.

Summer of 1962, our family attended the one hundred years Centennial of the Battle of Shiloh. 

We were vacationing in Savannah, Tennessee with my dad's friends Ronnie and Maria Cornelius.

Ronnie’s parents lived in Savannah within walking distance of the Shiloh Battle Field where the

Reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh was taking place.
Ronnie, Maria, and their children were staying with Ronnie's parents.

From the Cornelius home we could the Merchants (Sutlers)setting up tents with period style-goods to sell to the reenacts and the public. 

There were men dressed as Union and Confederate Soldiers getting ready to engage in battle.

We were amazed, as we watched the cannons and rifles being fired, during the reenactment

The smell of gunfire (burning power)and black smoke filled the air. The battle raged on men were dying, bodies covered the ground, what an awful sight, death.
We walked back to the Cornelius house and dad was ready to return to our vacation campsite on the Tennessee River.

We had arrived in Shiloh in dad's new Blue Dodge pick-up truck, pulling our red and white nine-seater outboard motorboat.

The bed of the truck was filled with eight kids, water-skis, orange life jackets, swimsuits, extra clothes, food, and water.

We had come prepared to swim, fish and camp on the Tennessee River.
We had brought a large green military tent for all our belongings and a place for all of us to sleep.

Dad and Ronnie had put out trot-lines early that morning and by late that afternoon 
they had caught enough catfish to cook for dinner.

After dad and Ronnie had cleaned all the catfish they built a roaring fire.

Mom had a cast iron pot with a handle, and the pot was hung over the hot roaring fire.

Mom would fill the cast iron pot full of Mazola oil when the oil was boiling

she would drop in the catfish. 

While the oil was still hot, mom would make hush-puppies and drop them one by one into the pot.
She stopped cooking hush-puppies when there was enough for the family.

In preparation for our upcoming meal, we would cover the picnic tables with a white sheet.

We would sat-out paper plates, forks, napkins, cups, catchup, tartar sauce and cups for ice tea.

We had purchased a cooler full of ice at the local store.

The kids would retreat back into the Tennessee River until dark, leaving mom to do all the cleaning up after dinner.

It would be way after nine when we headed to the tent and would fall onto our palates (a place for us to sleep.

We would be awakened by the buzzing and vampires mosquitos that left red blotches everywhere on us.

Insect repellent was the most.

We were invited to eat Sunday dinner with the Cornelius family.

Mrs. Cornelius had prepared cornbread, meatloaf, fried potatoes, white beans, corn and apple cake for dessert.

Our vacation was eating catfish, camping, skiing and swimming on the Tennessee River and the reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh.

My least favorite thing about our vacation was the vampire mosquitoes.