The Filson Civil War Field Institute: The Campaign and Battle of Shiloh
By Brian R. Pollock
Special Events Coordinator
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Kent Masterson Brown set the
scene for the two-day battle
and led our group throughout the
4,000 acres of the park to walk
the same ground as the soldiers
walked in April 1862. Everyone
returned safely after learning the
details of the Campaign and Battle
of Shiloh during a weekend of
both rain and beautiful weather.
The institute began on Thursday evening at the Veranda House in Corinth, Mississippi. Kent introduced us to Colonel Eugene Erwin who carried the battle-flag which was returned to Corinth to be on display at the Corinth Interpretive Center. The home served as General Braxton Bragg’s headquarters before and after the Battle of Shiloh. It was our headquarters to muster the troops.
Reveille came early on Friday as
we sat down for an examination
of the Kentucky Defense
Line and its Collapse
to see the troop movements
that led to Shiloh. This was
followed by an overview of the
tactical movements at Shiloh. After
fortifying ourselves with a hot
meal, the troops boarded the bus
under 
threatening skies to travel
to Shiloh. We reached the park
and began at Pittsburgh Landing
to see where the Union ships
bombarded the Confederates with
shells throughout the evening of
the 6th. As we looked out on the
Tennessee River, we could almost
hear the sound of the shells.
Alas, we realized that was just
the rain moving in as we
marched back to the bus
to continue the tour under
cover. An intrepid few
would disembark at various
sites around the field
to see how the men were
deployed for the coming
battle. The day concluded
with a tour of the Corinth
Interpretive Center. The
battle-flag of the Sixth
Missouri Infantry was presented
to the center for
display in their museum.
We were also treated to
the new monument to
the Civil War showing the
battles and divide between
North and South.
Just as with Shiloh, the tides changed for our Saturday morning and we had a beautiful day to tour the battlefield. Among the sites on Saturday were the site of Albert Sydney Johnston’s death, the Hornet’s Nest, and the Confederate falter at Dill Branch. The day concluded with the counterattacks by Grant’s and Buell’s combined armies.
On the final day, only the heartiest
returned for a later battle in
the area. We walked in the footsteps
of Colonel Eugene Erwin
during the Battle of Corinth.
We visited the outer works and
saw the earthen mounds that
surrounded Corinth and even
after 150 years of erosion, it still
created a formidable defense.
The corps disbanded that morning with the promise of reuniting in Lexington in the fall to invade Kentucky and explore the history of the Civil War. Continuing on the success of this institute, The Filson will embark again on October 26-29, 2006 to discover the battlefields and important sites associated with the Confederate Invasion of Kentucky. We hope that you will be able to enlist with our regiment of The Filson Civil War Field Institute and traipse through the pages of history in the landscapes of the Western Theater.
For more information on The Filson's Civil War Field Institute, please visit our website www.civilwarinstitute.org.
The Filson Historical Society
1310 South Third Street - Louisville, KY 40208
Phone: (502) 635-5083 Fax: (502) 635-5086
Hours
The Ferguson Mansion and Office
Monday - Friday: 9 am. - 5 pm.
Saturday and Sunday closed
Library
Monday - Friday: 9 am. - 5 pm.
Saturday: 9 am. - 12 noon