Boom Goes the History

Join us for a hodgepodge of topics regarding the Shiloh National Military Park and the soldiers who fought there (including General Parker Hills naming the worst man to ever dawn a military uniform).

General William T. Sherman did not know a Confederate attack was coming until deer and rabbits began scurrying out of the woods. Learn more about the coming attack from General Parker Hills of Battle Focus Tours and Dr. Chris Mackowski of Emerging Civil War.

Now we take a look at what led the Confederate Army to Shiloh from the "off the beaten path" location of Johnston's Last Bivouac just outside of Shiloh National Military Park.

Join us from atop Pittsburg Landing in the Shiloh National Cemetery for a summary of how the Union and Confederate Armies end up at Shiloh. Garry Adelman is the Chief Historian of the American Battlefield Trust, and General Parker Hills is representing Battle Focus Tours.

With a growing Federal Army engulfing the Fort Donelson garrison on the Cumberland River, Confederate Generals Gideon Pillow and John Floyd flee to safety, while the majority of their men surrender to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

As the Confederate forces attempted to breakout from Fort Donelson at Dudley Hill, Ulysses S. Grant seizes the opportunity by launching an assault on the Confederate right. Headed by Gen. Charles F. Smith, the Confederate line is breached in heavy fighting, while the two principal Confederate commanders, Gens. John Floyd and Gideon Pillow prepared to flee to safety.

With their backs against the wall, and a growing Union force looming, Confederate Generals Gideon Pillow, John Floyd, and Simon B. Buckner attempt to breakout from Fort Donelson in February of 1862.

It's one of the most picturesque settings on any Civil War battlefield, Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. In February of 1862, the Federal Army and Navy combined their efforts to open the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers. In the actions that followed, Middle Tennessee was opened to Federal incursions and the career of Ulysses S. Grant was placed on the fast track.

With this episode, we are launching our Western Theater of the Civil War swing where Ulysses S. Grant's career was launched: Fort Henry on the Tennessee River.

Pickett's Charge, the High Water Mark of the Confederacy, was the climatic phase of the Battle of Gettysburg. On July 3, 1863, more than 12,000 Confederate soldiers assaulted the Federal position along Cemetery Ridge. In less than an hour, the Rebels were dealt a stunning defeat.