Question for Civil War buffs

[MrBoats]

I am going to Shiloh, Corinth/Iuka and possibly Murfreesboro the week after next. Belmont, Mo. will be on the way, but I'm not sure if there's anything on the Missouri side, where the battle took place, or even if it's possible to get there by car. Does anyone know if it's worth the extra drive time? I have been to the Columbus, KY park on the other side of the river but I'd like to see what's on this side (I live in Missouri).

Thanks for any feedback

[Brigz]

What about Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge?

[MrBoats]

From one Dave to another, (and Sacramento is my birth town)
 
I've been to Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge several times. They are great to visit and have a lot of walking paths to explore. I live near Lexington and Boonville, and I think there was even a little skirmish about twenty miles from here. I've read that Missouri is second only to Virginia in the number of Civil War sites. I've seen Westport, Carthage, Rolla and Pilot Knob as well. Belmont is one of the sites I've not seen close-up, just from across the river. There's probably not anything there, and the battle site may well have been washed over by the river years ago, anyway. I'm just one of those nuts who wants to notch my belt, so to speak.
 
4 years ago on Columbus Day I walked the course of Pickett's Charge -- that was a high point in my life. Did it on a broken foot, too! I parked on Cemetery Ridge and hiked (hobbled is more like it) over to Seminary Ridge, by Lee's Statue, then walked back and tried to imagine the hell on earth the southern troops endured. I can't see how anyone made it to the federal lines intact. There's no substitute for walking the battlefields. The Bloody Lane at Antietam gave me shivers, and I am not a superstitious man. Next year I'd like to see the Wilderness and Spotsylvania again -- it's been 21 years since I was back there.
 
Dave

[Sardonic]

Shiloh is a good site. I have been there.

[MrBoats]

It sure is. I was last there in '99. So much smaller than Gettysburg, but it seems evry square foot of it was fought over. I'd like to visit every major battlefield on the days the battles occurred. Lexington will be next week, and Antietam on Monday.

[mac5732]

also in Springfield mo. they have the only civil war cemetery where soldiers from both sides are buried together... Wilson Creek and Pea Ridge are also in that general area. I was there many years ago and it was an interesting visit.

[bradfordkay]

When I was born, dad was the historian at Shiloh. He was transferred before I got to an age where I could explore the place. I'd like to take a full day there sometime...

[MrBoats]

It's hard to imagine trying to command a battle at Shiloh, given the conditions of the period. I think there are very few places on the battlefield that afford a field of view more than 100 yards or so. It sems to me that the battlefield is well-preserved -- it is close to what it was in '62. That's a problem I had with Vicksburg: trees have grown between the trench lines and you can't see across no-man's-land. Of course, I was there 16 years ago and things may have changed in the meantime. One good thing: no fast food joints on the battlefield! Gettysburg is an awesome site, but the commercial intrusions on the field are annoying. I'm 110% a capitalist, but there are limits.

I hope to devote the better part of Saturday to Shiloh, followed by a few stops in Mississippi, including Corinth and Brice's Crossroads. I probably won't try to locate Belmont -- I think it would take a lot of time out of my schedule. I think I can just look at it even more closely with Google Earth!

[Mad Cow]

The South lost the war at Shiloh when A.S. Johnston was killed. 

[MrBoats]

That is one of the Great Questions of the war. The stump of the tree at which he died is still intact at Shiloh. As I understand it, Johnston refused treatment for his wound to let the doctors attend to others. He may not have realized how serious the wound was. I wonder whether or not he would have remained in the western theater, or if he would have taken over in the east. I think the same "what if" applies to general Lyon. I think he might have wound up an army commander just for his aggressiveness, had he lived.

[oldspec4]

ORIGINAL: MrBoats

It's hard to imagine trying to command a battle at Shiloh, given the conditions of the period. I think there are very few places on the battlefield that afford a field of view more than 100 yards or so. It sems to me that the battlefield is well-preserved -- it is close to what it was in '62. That's a problem I had with Vicksburg: trees have grown between the trench lines and you can't see across no-man's-land. Of course, I was there 16 years ago and things may have changed in the meantime. One good thing: no fast food joints on the battlefield! Gettysburg is an awesome site, but the commercial intrusions on the field are annoying. I'm 110% a capitalist, but there are limits.

I hope to devote the better part of Saturday to Shiloh, followed by a few stops in Mississippi, including Corinth and Brice's Crossroads. I probably won't try to locate Belmont -- I think it would take a lot of time out of my schedule. I think I can just look at it even more closely with Google Earth!

Am going to visit the Shiloh/Corinth area in a couple of weeks. I'm also one that walks the battlefield in detail usually taking 2 days or more at the major parks. One excellent reference that I use is the Army War College Staff Rides for the major battles, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, Perryville, etc. Yeah, Vicksburg is tough to visualize with the trees. The NPS is doing some work on removing trees to on selected parts of the battlefield but IIRC environmentalists are opposing any major changes. I may revisit Vicksburg in late Fall or Early Spring when trees are bare. I visited Murfreesboro (Stone's River) in July. A new large shopping strip mall is being built on a major part of the battlefield outside of the park. Very sad to see.

[MrBoats]

That's sad news about Murfreesboro. I haven't yet seen it, and I'd like to get there this year or next. How many thousand square miles are there available for malls, yet they always want to use battlefield sites? I remember the controversy over Disney wanting to build near Bull Run.

And honestly, what would the loss of a few hundred trees -- if that many -- make to the world if Vicksburg was cleared off? I fly over the country and all I see is forests. The park service ought to offer to plant ten trees at Yellowstone for every tree taken down at Vicksburg.

Thanks for the staff ride info. I had forgotten about them. My brother attended the War College and I think he went on staff rides. He will be with me this weekend and it will be a pleasure to have a professional (ret. Col.) along. I hate taking anyone to a battlefield who doesn't "get it" or has no interest in military history. It's like taking me to a clothing factory outlet.