Marathon Pundit: My Mississippi Manifest Destiny: Shiloh Part Four

I thought I'd post one more view of the Shiloh battlefield. On the left is the monument to General Albert Sidney Johnston, who commanded the Confederate forces until he died on the first day of the battle. Over on the right is a memorial built for Union Brigadier General W.H.L. Wallace, who died of his wounds three days after the Battle of Shiloh.

Generals getting killed in battle were common in the Civil War, more than ten percent of the Union and Confederate generals ended up dying during the conflict. World War I saw far fewer deaths of generals, with astoundingly higher casualty rates in comparison to our Civil War.

Shiloh could be the "most literary" battle ever fought. Union Major General Lew Wallace (no relation to W.H.L Wallace) after the war became a diplomat and author of three novels, including Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Short story writer and journalist Ambrose Bierce was a Union lieutenant at Shiloh.

Welsh-born reporter and author Henry Stanley fought for the South at Shiloh. He was captured, switched sides, eventually ending up in the Union Navy. It was Stanley who found missing Scottish explorer David Livingstone, supposedly with the greeting, "Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

Next: Corinth, Mississippi

Previous My Mississippi Manifest Destiny posts:

Shiloh Part Three
Shiloh Part Two
Shiloh Part One
Carl Perkins
The Varsity Theatre in Martin, Tennessee
Lincoln and Kentucky
Metropolis

Henry Stanley related post:

My Kansas Kronikles: Medicine Lodge

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