Shiloh National Military Park: Cultural Landscape Report, National Park Service

Quinn Evans

Shiloh National Military Park (NMP), a secluded and well-preserved battlefield site, was established by Congress on December 27, 1894. Located in Shiloh, Tennessee, and Corinth, Mississippi, the purpose of the park is “to preserve and interpret the battlefields, sites, resources, and oral histories associated with Shiloh, Tennessee, and Corinth, Mississippi, during the Western Campaign of the Civil War.” The battle of Shiloh occurred during April of 1862, and involved approximately 65,000 Union and 44,000 Confederate troops, resulting in 23,746 killed, wounded, and missing. The decisive Union victory enabled the United States to advance on the strategic Confederate railway junction at Corinth, Mississippi later that month. The park is significant because: 1. The Battle of Shiloh was a critical and violent event early in the Civil War; 2. The park is the second oldest national military park, and the existing commemorative landscape reflects the contributions of Union and Confederate Civil War veterans; 3. The intersection of transportation routes, including the railroad crossing at Corinth and Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, linked by country roads, illustrate the importance of logistics during the Civil War; 4. The Corinth Unit is a National Historic Landmark and preserves and protects the few surviving examples of early Civil War earthen fortifications; 5. The Corinth Unit contains the site of the Corinth Contraband Camp, established in 1862 by the Union Army, where formerly enslaved people took steps towards citizenship; 6. The Battle of Corinth, which occurred in October of 1862, was the last major Confederate offensive in the state of Mississippi. 7. The Shiloh Indian Mounds are designated as a National Historic Landmark, one of the finest examples of a complete Mississippian-era archeological village site in the nation. The study area is composed of over 7,000 acres. This includes the Shiloh Battlefield (as of 28 February 2019, was at 5,003 acres owned within the ~ 6,025+ authorized); Fallen Timbers, with 270 acres owned by American Battlefield Trust within the NPS 468 acre authorized boundary; the resources at Corinth, which are 1,616+ acres within the authorized boundary, with 811 owned by the NPS; and Davis Bridge Battlefield, which includes 1,090+ acres within the authorized boundary, with 850.11 currently protected by the state of Tennessee and 5.46 acres owned by NPS. Acreage authorizations also encompass the Russell House at Corinth (666+). This Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) serves as the principal management document and primary tool for long-term management of cultural landscapes within Shiloh NMP. The report documents, evaluates, and provides treatment guidance for the physical landscape within the study area. This CLR addresses the entire study area, placing emphasis on preservation, management and use of lands in the Corinth Unit that have been obtained over the last ten years and the Davis Bridge and Fallen Timbers properties.

Shiloh National Military Park: Cultural Landscape Report, National Park Service

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