Iuka, Mississippi 

Shiloh Battlefield and Corinth, Mississippi...

November 17, 2022


Our arrival into Iuka, Mississippi was pretty straightforward.  When we arrived in the office and we got information about the loaner car and asking about where to go for food and groceries.  The harbormaster says it's real easy here.  You get up to the end of the gravel road and at the main road, if you turn right, you are in Tennessee and if you turn left, you are in Mississippi.  Sounded pretty simple and it was.  Found a very eclectic grocery store called Brooks Grocery in Mississippi.  I don't think anyone was working there over the age of 20 but everyone was very nice and they recommended what ended up being a great BBQ place!  We did also go to the right where Danny went into a convenience store to buy beer.  The woman said they did not sell beer because there was a law in Tennessee, in order to sell beer you had to be 500 feet from a place of worship.  The store was 490 feet.  The clerk said they had asked for a variance a few times without success.  Danny did not believe it and went and looked up the law she quoted.  Sure enough there it was in black and white.


We lined up a private guide to take us through the Shiloh Battlefield.  The guy, Larry DeBerry, was fascinating in the detailed history he knew not to mention he grew up his whole life here and family went back to before the Civil War.   The bottom line to Shiloh to make it short and sweet is the battle was not to have happened here.  The battle (April, 1862) was to be in Corinth, Miss where 2 major railroads intersected (Mobile & Ohio and Charleston & Memphis).  Grant was awaiting men and supplies and Johnston for the Confederates were waiting for the same.  Grant’s came late (difficulty to finding a path to Grant, the help of the local doctor showed the troops how to get to Pittsburg Landing) and Johnston’s supplies from Arkansas didn’t come at all.  The Confederates attempted to make the first move to try to avoid the Union getting to Corinth.  There were 23,000 men killed over 2 days with the fatalities being about equal.  Many of the injured were taken to Corinth where homes were turned into hospitals and the Southerns left and Mothers of the men injured were brought in to provide care to their sons.  The war finally did come to Corinth in October 1862.  Historians believe the loss of these 2 battles made it impossible for the Confederates to win.  There was a Contraband Camp in Corinth for escaped slaves to support themelves with sewing, gardening to the town people while learning to read and write.  This was only available until 1864 while the Union occupied the area.  We were running short on light so hopefully we will go back next fall when coming back around the Loop.  Our guide showed some of the unique things the Soldiers made with their bullets to include dice, poker chips by pounding them down, and fishing sinkers.  The phrase “You’ll just have to bite the bullet” came from the Civil War.  When supplies of morphine were low, the medical people would give a soldier a bullet to bite.  He had bullets showing obvious teeth marks.  The Battlefield was named after the church there called Shiloh Church which means House of Peace.  Shiloh was named a National Park in 1894 and the committee was made up of both Union and former Confederate Soldiers.  The land has remained heavily wooded like it was in 1862 except for the road.  The picture of the granite stump relates to a Soldier from the Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry who was killed on the battlefield.  The other soldiers, buried his body next to this oak tree and carved his initials into it.  The decision to carve the initials low to the ground was so if it was ever cut, the initials would still be intact.  When a group of those from Wisconsin came back many years later, they found the tree with the initials still there, dug up his body and he was buried at the National Cemetery at Shiloh.  



The group chose to make a granite reproduction of the tree as the tree was dying.  
The guide at Shiloh talked about the naming of the armies for both sides.  The Union troops were named after states and the Confederate troops after rivers which I never realized.  One of the people who fought at Shiloh was John Wesley Powell.  He lost one arm during that conflict and at Vicksburg, Nashville, and the Atlanta Campaign commanded artillery batteries under Sherman despite the loss of his arm.  Most people know him for his work on the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon.  I bought a book on medical care during the Civil War.  Amputations were frequent due to injuries sustained and could be accomplished in 5 minutes.  Many of the deaths not on the battlefields were due mostly to infections. 







Danny and I traveled by car to Corinth and saw the Railroad intersection and walked the downtown.  We had a great dinner at Vicari which was Italian.  Next fall, I hope to go back to see things there in more detail and have a “slug burger”.  Apparently, these were served during the depression.  A slug was another name for 5 cents, the meat the size of a nickel was mixed with other items  ie beans or vegetables to make a burger.  The oldest pharmacy in Mississippi- Borrum’s Pharmacy (started by a Confederate surgeon after the war) serves them at their counter but we ran out of time.  Corinth had just gotten a Chickfilia and Starbucks on the main highway but I passed. I was hoping to find a marker for one of the Contraband Camp but never found one.  At the museum in town, it was interesting to see that the town like many others in the south were not much interested in fighting the Civil War due to large amount of commerce they received from the northern states.


A picture from the top of Woodall Mountain.  This is the highest point in Mississippi- at 805 feet...LOL

Tomorrow we leave for Fulton, Mississippi about 50 miles but we have 3 locks to cross so, we will be leaving at the crack of dawn!

 TOTAL MILES TRAVELLED   178.5 miles

TOTAL DAYS    6





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