Shiloh National Cemetery Photo Tour
This story along with the photos are about Shiloh National Cemetery, not about the Battle of Shiloh.
Walking through the ornate iron gate the realization that you are on hallowed ground is immediate and awe inspiring. Shiloh National Cemetery sits overlooking the Tennessee River on its west bank in a location known as Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee. Now encompassed by the Shiloh National Military Park, the cemetery initially created in 1866 has been called “the handsomest cemetery in the South.”
Primarily a Civil War (or War Between the States) Cemetery, Shiloh National Cemetery hold veterans of every war from the Civil War up until the The Persian Gulf War. There are 3,892 souls interred in the cemetery, and even though interment was officially closed in 1984 the cemetery still sees 3 or 4 burials each year.
Scattered throughout the cemetery you will find plaques with unique poetry and/or saying on them. My favorite among them reads such:
On fames eternal camping ground,
Their silent tents are spread,
And glory guards with solemn round
The bivouac of the dead.
I fully encourage everyone to visit Shiloh (both the military park and the cemetery) as it is a sobering reminder of our past.
For those interested in learning more about the Shiloh National Cemetery, find some useful information here.
For those interested in a little more in depth review of the park, you can find an article I previously published for my friends at Our Valley Events here.
