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This Great Battlefield of Shiloh: History, Memory, and the Establishment of a Civil War National Military Park
Traces the history of the establishment of Shiloh National Military Park, arguing that Shiloh veterans purposefully set aside the issues of the Civil War in order to memorialize and honor soldiers from both sides of the conflict, both living and dead.
- GenresHistory
192 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2004
About the author
Timothy B. Smith
39 books22 followersA former NPS ranger at Shiloh, Timothy B. Smith teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
April 8, 2026
Shiloh Battlefield
General Ulysses Grant once noted that "the Battle of Shiloh has been perhaps less understood, or, to state the case more accurately, more persistently misunderstood, than any other engagement". With Grant commanding the Army of the Tennessee, the Battle of Shiloh began on April 6, 1862 with a daring attack by the Confederate's Army of the Mississippi commanded by General Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston lost his life during the battle. On April 7, 1862, following reinforcement of Grant by the Army of the Cumberland, the Confederate forces were driven back.
The Battle of Shiloh occurred in a remote area of Southwest Tennessee near Savannah, Tennessee and about 22 miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. Congress provided for the establishment of a National Military Park at Shiloh in 1893. (The National Cemetery was established just after the Civil War.) I visited the park four years ago. It remains pristine and isolated and undeveloped. The park is arranged with quiet dignity. I was moved by my visit.
In his book "This Great Battlefield of Shiloh" Dr. Timothy Smith discusses the establishment and history of the Shiloh National Battlefield. Dr Smith holds a PhD in history from Mississippi State and is a park ranger at Shiloh. He is deeply familiar with the Battle, with the history of the Park, and with recent scholarly approaches discussing the relationship between memory and history in studying the Civil War.
Dr. Smith begins his book with a brief overview of the Battle. He then discusses how an organization composed of veterans and political leaders worked successfully for the establishment of the Park. He explores in detail the work involved in establishing the Park, in the matters of clearing title, acquiring land, building roads, planning monuments and living quarters, determining the history of the Battle and much else. His stresses the remote location of Shiloh and the lack of roads early in the 20th Century. Most material needed to be shipped on the Tennessee River to the site of Pittsburgh Landing, a key feature of the Battlefield. Many people devoted their lives to the establishment of the Shiloh Park. Dr. Smith pays most attention to Cornelius Cadle, the first chairman of the commission which managed the park, Atwell Thompson, the park's chief engineer, and David Reed. Reed was a historian whose account of the Battle of Shiloh set the stage for subsequent interpretations over the next 70 years.
There is a great deal more to Dr. Smith's account than factual information. His book explores well the purposes for which the Park was established -- to promote American patriotism, reconciliation after the Civil War, and American nationalism. In accordance with much recent scholarship, Dr. Smith is aware that these values were purchased at high cost -- the origins of the Civil War in slavery and in secession were marginalized in an attempt to celebrate Union and the valor of Americans both North and South. I found Dr. Smith's account measured and careful, both in the importance he attaches to the values for which the Park was established and in his realization of the tragedy of forgetting the origins of the War.
Dr. Smith also has interesting things to say about the Battle of Shiloh itself and of the history that David Reed and the Park perpetuated. Reed saw the Sunken Road and Hornet's Nest in the middle of the Battlefield as the key to the fighting. Many subsequent historians have followed that view. But, according to Dr. Smith, more detailed research has shown that the Sunken Road saw only limited action with most of the fighting taking place to its East or West. This is a point that needs developing and analysis in subsequent studies of the battle.
Among the more romantic elements of the Battle of Shiloh is the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston, the highest-ranked American officer to be killed in Battle. Dr. Smith gives an excellent account of how the Park determined the spot where Johnston fell and how it was marked on the Battlefield. Johnston's actual location at his death too remains a subject of dispute.
This is a fine book particularly in the way Dr. Smith discusses the meaning of the Battle and the War and encourages reflection on these matters by his readers. I wanted to visit Shiloh again after reading the book. The book will interest readers interested in Shiloh and in Civil War historiography.
Robin Friedman
General Ulysses Grant once noted that "the Battle of Shiloh has been perhaps less understood, or, to state the case more accurately, more persistently misunderstood, than any other engagement". With Grant commanding the Army of the Tennessee, the Battle of Shiloh began on April 6, 1862 with a daring attack by the Confederate's Army of the Mississippi commanded by General Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston lost his life during the battle. On April 7, 1862, following reinforcement of Grant by the Army of the Cumberland, the Confederate forces were driven back.
The Battle of Shiloh occurred in a remote area of Southwest Tennessee near Savannah, Tennessee and about 22 miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. Congress provided for the establishment of a National Military Park at Shiloh in 1893. (The National Cemetery was established just after the Civil War.) I visited the park four years ago. It remains pristine and isolated and undeveloped. The park is arranged with quiet dignity. I was moved by my visit.
In his book "This Great Battlefield of Shiloh" Dr. Timothy Smith discusses the establishment and history of the Shiloh National Battlefield. Dr Smith holds a PhD in history from Mississippi State and is a park ranger at Shiloh. He is deeply familiar with the Battle, with the history of the Park, and with recent scholarly approaches discussing the relationship between memory and history in studying the Civil War.
Dr. Smith begins his book with a brief overview of the Battle. He then discusses how an organization composed of veterans and political leaders worked successfully for the establishment of the Park. He explores in detail the work involved in establishing the Park, in the matters of clearing title, acquiring land, building roads, planning monuments and living quarters, determining the history of the Battle and much else. His stresses the remote location of Shiloh and the lack of roads early in the 20th Century. Most material needed to be shipped on the Tennessee River to the site of Pittsburgh Landing, a key feature of the Battlefield. Many people devoted their lives to the establishment of the Shiloh Park. Dr. Smith pays most attention to Cornelius Cadle, the first chairman of the commission which managed the park, Atwell Thompson, the park's chief engineer, and David Reed. Reed was a historian whose account of the Battle of Shiloh set the stage for subsequent interpretations over the next 70 years.
There is a great deal more to Dr. Smith's account than factual information. His book explores well the purposes for which the Park was established -- to promote American patriotism, reconciliation after the Civil War, and American nationalism. In accordance with much recent scholarship, Dr. Smith is aware that these values were purchased at high cost -- the origins of the Civil War in slavery and in secession were marginalized in an attempt to celebrate Union and the valor of Americans both North and South. I found Dr. Smith's account measured and careful, both in the importance he attaches to the values for which the Park was established and in his realization of the tragedy of forgetting the origins of the War.
Dr. Smith also has interesting things to say about the Battle of Shiloh itself and of the history that David Reed and the Park perpetuated. Reed saw the Sunken Road and Hornet's Nest in the middle of the Battlefield as the key to the fighting. Many subsequent historians have followed that view. But, according to Dr. Smith, more detailed research has shown that the Sunken Road saw only limited action with most of the fighting taking place to its East or West. This is a point that needs developing and analysis in subsequent studies of the battle.
Among the more romantic elements of the Battle of Shiloh is the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston, the highest-ranked American officer to be killed in Battle. Dr. Smith gives an excellent account of how the Park determined the spot where Johnston fell and how it was marked on the Battlefield. Johnston's actual location at his death too remains a subject of dispute.
This is a fine book particularly in the way Dr. Smith discusses the meaning of the Battle and the War and encourages reflection on these matters by his readers. I wanted to visit Shiloh again after reading the book. The book will interest readers interested in Shiloh and in Civil War historiography.
Robin Friedman
June 17, 2019
This short book tells the story of Shiloh National Military Park from the aftermath of the battle until its transfer from the jurisdiction of the War Department to the National Park Service in 1933. Smith’s enthusiasm for the park shines through this revised dissertation, even though his prose is usually more serviceable than exciting.
Attempts to relate the early administrative history of the park to current discussions about historical interpretation—probably only the flotsam of the book’s academic origins—are unnecessary because anachronistic. But Smith hits his stride when he begins to discuss his protagonist, David W. Reed (1841-1916), the “Father of Shiloh National Military Park,” to whose memory he dedicates the volume.
For those interested in the development of American military parks, there are three important lessons to be gleaned from Smith’s book: 1. The federal government was, at least on occasion, capable of dealing prudently and fairly with private landowners when acquiring park property—although it must be admitted that the area around Pittsburg Landing was an economic backwater. (53) 2. Not surprisingly, the winners of a battle tend to be more enthusiastic about commemorating it than the losers. (78) 3. An intelligent and gifted administrator such as Reed, early on the scene, can shape interpretation in such a way as to make full revision almost impossible. For instance, Civil War buffs know something about Shiloh’s “Hornets’ Nest,” “Sunken Road,” and “Bloody Pond,” but these iconic locations now seem to have been as much a creation of Reed’s historical imagination as battle reality. (69)
Attempts to relate the early administrative history of the park to current discussions about historical interpretation—probably only the flotsam of the book’s academic origins—are unnecessary because anachronistic. But Smith hits his stride when he begins to discuss his protagonist, David W. Reed (1841-1916), the “Father of Shiloh National Military Park,” to whose memory he dedicates the volume.
For those interested in the development of American military parks, there are three important lessons to be gleaned from Smith’s book: 1. The federal government was, at least on occasion, capable of dealing prudently and fairly with private landowners when acquiring park property—although it must be admitted that the area around Pittsburg Landing was an economic backwater. (53) 2. Not surprisingly, the winners of a battle tend to be more enthusiastic about commemorating it than the losers. (78) 3. An intelligent and gifted administrator such as Reed, early on the scene, can shape interpretation in such a way as to make full revision almost impossible. For instance, Civil War buffs know something about Shiloh’s “Hornets’ Nest,” “Sunken Road,” and “Bloody Pond,” but these iconic locations now seem to have been as much a creation of Reed’s historical imagination as battle reality. (69)
March 19, 2024
A history of the creation of a park would often times be a dull affair, but Smith pulls it off here. It helps that he chronicles some of the disputes over the park, in particular commemoration and the placement of markers and monuments.
February 11, 2012
Civil War historiography is all well and good, but one of the more interesting facets of the war is the aftermath of it--how it moves from an event happening at a specific place and time to a historical event. Smith's book is a really fascinating look at how a battlefield became a national military park, and how the preservation and interpretation efforts of the men who ran the park saved the battlefield while at the same time affected the way we understand the battle.
November 29, 2008
What we learned on the tour may not be true...
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August 7, 2024A little dry, but positively fascinating if you've ever wondered why we have parks and monuments to commemorate battles.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews