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The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield
written by Timothy B. Smith
Studio : Univ Tennessee Press
by Univ Tennessee Press
Publisher : Univ Tennessee Press
Released : 2008-03-01
Availability : Usually ships in 24 hours and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9781572336261
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 6 reviews)
Our Price : $21.95
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Shiloh: The Battle and the Park |
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The book is not a stand-alone account of the battle Shiloh. The book examines some of the controversies and little know facts at the battle of Shiloh and traces the establishment and history of the National Military Park. The book consists of nine well constructed essays. You could read an essay a night making the book easy to read. I enjoyed the first five essays about aspects of the battle, but lost interest reading the many speeches given dedicating monuments on the battlefield park. Later essays on the development of the park were interesting. The author works at the Shiloh NMP and is very familiar with battle and its literature. The author made good use of period photographs especially of naval craft that helped his narrative. Few maps were used and these were reproduced from the Civil War Official Records and were too small and hard to read to be of any use in following the battle. |
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Essays on Shiloh |
The Battle of Shiloh was one of the pivotal encounters of the Civil War. Fought in a remote location in south central Tennessee, north of Corinth, Mississippi, the battle showed the nation that the Civil War would be long and difficult. The Battle of Shiloh opened up the western Confederacy to the Union invasion that would ultimately prove its undoing. And the battle resulted in the death of a high-ranking and charismatic Confederate leader, General Albert Sidney Johnston. I read this excellent collection of essays during the anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh, (April 6 -- 7, 1862), and it made me long to visit the Battlefield again.
Compared with other major Civil War battles, Shiloh has received little detailed attention and no collection of essays of which I am aware. This excellent collection of essays by Timothy B Smith helps to rectify the situation. Smith holds a PhD in history from Mississippi State University and is a former ranger at Shiloh National Military Park. He currently teaches at the University of Tennessee. Smith is the author of an earlier study of the establishment of Shiloh National Military Park, "This Great Battlefield of Shiloh." With this book of essays and another book, "Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862" soon to be published, Smith is establishing himself as an authority on Shiloh and its aftermath.
This collection consists of nine essays, most of which were published earlier, on various aspects of the Battle of Shiloh and its aftermath, Shiloh National Military Park, and the historiography of the battle. One of the earlier essays, "Oft-Repeated Campfire Stories" examines what Smith describes as the "Ten Greatest Myths of Shiloh." This essay is a good overview of the battle for those with some familiarity with it and with the controversies it has engendered. Other essays dealing with more specific aspects of the battle include an excellent study of the role of the Union Navy during the battle, "Gallant and Invaluable Service", a study of the frequently overlooked campaign against Corinth, Mississippi, which followed the battle, and a study of the role of Confederate General Alexander Stewart and his brigade in the chaos that was the Battle of Shiloh.
The remaining essays in the book deal with the historiography and the commemoration of the Battle of Shiloh. The first essay in the book, "Historians and the Battle of Shiloh" is an overview of the different ways historians have described the events of the battle. Smith identifies three separate views found in the literature before introducing his own view, which emphasizes the topography of the battlefield and which tends to downplay the importance previous historians have given to action at the Hornet's Nest and Sunken Road. Smith further explains his view of the battle in his soon to be published "Shiloh and the Western Campaign" which consists of the text of a PhD dissertation by Edward Cunningham setting out what is becoming an influential account of Shiloh.
Smith's essay "Shiloh Monument Dedication Speeches and the Rhetoric of Reunion" was, for me, the highlight of the collection. It it, Smith quotes extensively from speeches given by Northerners and Southerners at Shiloh from 1902 through the dedication of the Tennessee state monument in 2004. It is important to see this collection of speeches unearthed and explored. Smith emphasizes the themes of national unity and reconciliation that pervade these speeches. He points out that the United States of the present day has little of the spirit of unity that characterize these speeches and he offers thoughts on why that is the case. These speeches, and similar speeches at other Battlefields, deserve further study.
The remaining three essays in the book study the establishment and history of the Shiloh National Cemetry and the lives of two early superintendants at Shiloh: David Wilson Reed, the "Father of Shiloh National Military Park" who was responsible for the historically most influential account of the battle, and Reed's successor, DeLong Rice, whom Smith portrays as Shiloh's "Poet Preservationist".
Smith has written a thoughtful group of essays which will appeal to those readers with an interest in the Civil War and with a special fascination for the Battle of Shiloh.
Robin Friedman |
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A scholarly and serious-minded close evaluation written by and for serious Civil War historians and scholars. |
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Written by Timothy B. Smith, a staff member at the Shiloh National Military Park, The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield is a meticulous appraisal of history's understanding of the battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War. Seeking to fill in the gaps in chronicles of what actually took place, The Untold Story of Shiloh goes beyond the two days of battle, presenting a collection of essays - some previously published, some not - evaluating topics ranging from Shiloh's historiography, the myths created about the battle, and the mindsets established after the battle, to the stories behind memorializations of the battle after it had taken place, including Shiloh's cemetery, monument, and military park. A scholarly and serious-minded close evaluation written by and for serious Civil War historians and scholars. |
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Amazing Narrative of one of the most Important event of the Civil War |
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This book covers more than just the battle and includes the creation of Shiloh National Military Park, and the attitudes of the people involved." |
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Cleared up a lot of misconceptions about Shiloh |
As a Civil War book, I found this very readable and enjoyable. It was meant to be an overview of the battle, the battlefield, and the times - which can get bogged down in needless detail. Smith was able to avoid that. I especially liked the essay on dedicatory speeches at the battlefield; contrasting present day regionalism with 19th century reconciliation. Quoting Smith, the difference is "breathtaking". In the speeches, you can feel the aftermath of the bloody conflict, what it REALLY meant to the survivors and their offspring. Today's "Lost Cause" revisionism lacks the understanding of why we put that all behind us - and why we never want to dredge up that kind of intensity again.
More pictures would have heightened the experience. Other than that it was a great effort. |
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