Shiloh Questions & Answers

With the release of Shiloh & Corinth: Sentinels of Stone, author Timothy Isbell answers questions about his latest book and future projects.

Why Shiloh?

Prior to Shiloh, I think the North and South did not realize how severe the Civil War would be. The loss of life at Shiloh punctuated the brutality and sacrifice that would become commonplace in the war. While the casualty list at Shiloh was staggering, it would pale in comparison with the casualties in future battles like Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga and Cold Harbor.

Shiloh is important as it plays a vital role in the Union’s eventual conquest of the western Confederacy. Shiloh is also an important part in the growth of Ulysses S. Grant as a general in the Federal army. While many generals would have turned tail and run, Grant was thinking victory even when all around seemed bleak. I think that is one of the better qualities in Grant.

What makes Shiloh special?

Shiloh has a special meaning for me for numerous reasons. Aside from Vicksburg, Shiloh is the battlefield I visited most as a child. My mother is from Florence, Ala. and my father from Greenwood Springs, Miss. My parents always visited family in north Alabama and Mississippi so it wasn’t a huge drive to go to Shiloh.

It was the last place that my Alabama grandmother went with my family before her death. We have a nice family photo of her sitting at a picnic table with my father, sister and me. I’ve got one of those touristy Confederate hats on so I always smile when I see that picture. I always equate Shiloh with my “Memaw” and father. We also have a photo of my father and me standing near the Bloody Pond. Like Vicksburg, Shiloh brings back many fond memories of my childhood and loved ones who have since passed away.

Shiloh also stands as a testament that I could continue the Sentinels project. I didn’t want Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone and Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone to be the only books I produced. Shiloh/Corinth seem like a logical prequel to the Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone. While Gettysburg and Vicksburg are covered with unique monuments, Shiloh doesn’t have as many and Corinth has even less. It was a challenge for me to find interesting angles and photos to accompany the stories. The Shiloh book proved to me that I can continue to document this hallowed ground.

I was introduced to the great catfish that is served at The Catfish Hotel located next to the battlefield on the Tennessee River. I cannot go to Shiloh now without stopping for some catfish.

For a historian, Shiloh probably resembles its 1862 appearance more than any other national battlefield. It is satisfying to be able to walk the ground and not have to compete with “progress.” Some of our most hallowed ground is in danger of being overtaken by urban sprawl.

Finally, Shiloh continues the tale of some of the Civil War’s most compelling figures. At Shiloh, Ulysses S. Grant’s army and career are hanging in the balance. A Union defeat at Shiloh would have finished the career of the most tenacious general the Union possessed.

William T. Sherman, W. H. L. Wallace and Everett Peabody are a great cast of supporting characters for the Union in the story of Shiloh. On the Confederate side, there is the tragic hero Albert Sidney Johnston, a little known colonel, Nathan Bedford Forrest, who would become a legend and Patrick Cleburne, the future “Stonewall of the West.”

What are some of your favorite spots at Shiloh?

Every time I work on a project, I develop favorite places to “hang out” with the ghosts of the past. At Gettysburg, it was at Little Round Top, the Mississippi monument, Cemetery Hill and the Angle. At Shiloh, I was drawn to Rhea Springs, Pittsburg Landing near the Tennessee River, Water Oaks pond, the Confederate monument and Bloody Pond.

Why did you include Corinth?

It's quite simple. There would be no Shiloh if it wasn’t for Corinth, Miss. The railways that stretched in all directions made Corinth a strategic location. Supplies from the Deep South passed through Corinth on their way to armies across the Confederacy. The decision to attack the Union army at Shiloh was made in Corinth. After the battle, the Confederate army retreated back to Corinth.

Even after Shiloh, the Union army still advanced into Mississippi to take Corinth. Once the town was under Federal control, the Confederate army of Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price joined in an attempt to retake Corinth. It would be impossible to tell the story of Shiloh without including Corinth.

I am impressed by Corinth’s interest in telling their story. The Civil War Interpretive Center, located at the location of Battery Robinett, is a vital part of the Shiloh/Corinth history.

Who are some of the characters we come to know at Corinth?

For the Union army, we are introduced to William S. Rosecrans. Thanks to his victory at Corinth, he ultimately is given command of what will become the Army of the Cumberland. While Rosecrans has a brilliant mind, we come to find out that he tends to micromanage and get caught up in the excitement of battle. This would become his undoing a year later at the battle of Chickamauga -- Rosecrans’ Waterloo. Other Federals of note are John MacArthur, Thomas Davies and Stephen Hurlbut.

For the Confederates, we learn about Earl Van Dorn, Sterling Price and William Rogers. Van Dorn is particularly interesting. He is a native Mississippian who is known for his grand designs which usually end as utter failures. He is also a womanizer which leads to his untimely death at the hands of a jealous husband.

The bravery displayed by Rogers while leading the charge on Battery Robinett is worthy of note. In a ceremony usually reserved for the higher officers, Rosecrans ordered Rogers, an enemy officer, buried with military honors.

Is there anything you discovered while working on the Shiloh & Corinth: Sentinels of Stone?

I was impressed by the stellar work by John Eaton and the Contraband Camp of former slaves at Corinth. The camp evolved into a model society with the former slaves raising their own crops and selling them to white patrons of Corinth. I did not know this about Corinth until I began research for this book.

In your first books, you thanked everyone who came to help the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. How is that area recovering from the worst national disaster in our nation’s history?

Recovery is slow but we can see light at the end of the tunnel. The Mississippi Gulf Coast was hit especially hard by Hurricane Katrina. While New Orleans was flooded due to a levee break, Mississippi was pummeled by a storm surge that was up to a 35-feet in some places.

We have been extremely lucky to have total strangers come to our aid during our time of need. That has been the truly great thing about Katrina. While Americans don’t always agree on issues, it has been humbling to see the outpouring of love by fellow Americans.

I grew up in a town that was burned by William T. Sherman and now I live in an area that was almost wiped off the map by Hurricanes Camille and Katrina. We Mississippians are a resilient people and we will come back better than ever.

We are also very luck to have the leadership provided by Governor Haley Barbour, Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, as well as Representative Gene Taylor. While I don’t always agree politically with Barbour, Cochran and Lott, I have been impressed by their leadership during this trying time.

Why is the Sentinels project important?

As we near the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I sense people know less and less about the war that defined a nation. No matter what your background or ethnicity, Civil War history has something for you.

You have two portions of our country fighting against each other for two very distinct visions on what this country should be. There is the leadership of men like Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Frederick Douglas, Ulysses S. Grant and many more steering the course of history through their actions and words. There are so many larger than life figures in this war.

There is a race of people seeking the end of bondage and hoping for life as a free people in the United States. There is another race of men from all different nations dying so another race can be given freedom.

Finally, I am afraid that the battlefields which I have come to love and respect could cease to exist or be a shell of their former selves. As each day passes, we lose more acres from these important fields. Developers are usually looking for the quick buck instead of restoring history. Other areas have fallen into a sad state of disrepair. I was just at Missionary Ridge and I saw a crack pipe in one of the barrels of a cannon and Orchard Knob looked to be a favorite sleeping spot for the homeless. If it wasn’t for organizations like the Civil War Preservation Trust, much of this hallowed ground would already be lost.

Many of the monuments that represent the soldiers of that era are victims of vandalization. Just this year, there has been repeated vandalization at Vicksburg. In 2006, vandals struck monuments at Gettysburg pulling them from their pedestals and actually beheading one statue and dragging it through the park.

Some of these statues are actual likenesses of soldiers in those regiments. It is virtually impossible to replace such priceless monuments. There really isn’t punishment severe enough to these individuals for destroying historic monuments.

If any of my Sentinels books makes someone stop and want to learn more about a specific battlefield, individual or the Civil War, the books will have been worth all the hard work. While the original volumes of the Gettysburg and Vicksburg will always have a special meaning to me, I have fond memories from each project on which I have worked.

I think the importance of the potential library of these Sentinels books will grow in the coming years. The books serve as a bridge between our generation and the people of a time long gone. The photographs serve as the modern day link to stories of great deeds by the people of the North and South.

What are your future projects?

I have already finished a Gettysburg: Sentinels of Stone Volume II. I thought it would be nice to have another book to coincide with the opening of the new Visitor’s Center. I’m currently working on a Chickamauga: Sentinels of Stone and a Vicksburg: Sentinels of Stone Volume II.

I hope to continue the Sentinels project so that all major battlefields will have their own book. I’ve gotten e-mails from a number of people asking me to do an Antietam: Sentinels of Stone. I would also like to do one on Lee’s Retreat to Appomattox, Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville and possibly the battle of Franklin, Tenn.

When I’m not working on the Sentinels project, I have begun work on a pictorial book on my native state of Mississippi. I have just begun photography on this book which will take me to the four corners of the state. I have started a preliminary design on a book featuring the lesser known Civil War spots in Mississippi. One day I would like to do a book on the Natchez Trace and possibly a Sentinels type book featuring the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi.

My son wants me to do a Sentinels approach to the Normandy invasion. After the Civil War, World War II holds a great deal of interest for me. I think the Civil War and World War II are similar in ways. Once again, you have Americans fighting and dying to free an oppressed people.

It is my hope to produce a book a year as I visit each Civil War battlefield. As long as the University Press of Mississippi keeps publishing my work, I’ll keep producing the books. I think we have a good thing going.

You can download a 300 dpi jpeg image of Tim Isbell by clicking here. Once it loads, right-click and save to your local drive.