EXPERIENCE THIS

HISTORY COMES ALIVE IN HARDIN COUNTY, TENNESSEE

TEXT BY BETH PIPPIN, IOM, HARDIN COUNTY TOURISM DIRECTOR PHOTOS BY BETH PIPPIN/CVB, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND STEVEN YOUNG

springtime in

Hardin County means boaters are beginning to putter about on the Tennessee River, the peach trees at Shiloh National Military Park are starting to bud, and the echoes of cannon fire will soon boom.

April is the anniversary of the pivotal Civil War battle at Shiloh, one of the most critical campaigns in American military history. Some of the biggest figures of the Civil War fought there: Grant, Sherman, Johnston, Beauregard, Forrest, Bragg and Buell. Grant wrote in his memoirs, “before Shiloh, Americans on both sides of the Mason Dixon line believed that

the war could still be a short affair.”

This year marks the 160th anniversary of the famous siege and several events are scheduled to recognize the historic confrontation. Locals, historians and reenactors will mark the occasion during the first weeks of April. The 1st Division/Southern Reenactors Association will reenact the battle near Shiloh

National Park the first weekend in April. Trained volunteers will showcase artillery and cavalry demonstrations, living history programs, and real-time battle scenarios on a 330-acre site off Joe Dillion Road in

Michie, TN. The same weekend in Savannah, TN, the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau will host the annual Generals Breakfast at

Cherry Mansion, the home that Gen. Ulysses S. Grant made his headquarters during the Battle of Shiloh. Tickets for the April 2 event include breakfast, a storytelling program by the attending generals, and a questionand-answer session with the homeowners of

Cherry Mansion. “Gen. Grant, portrayed by historian Dr. Curt Fields, will be joined at his headquarters by his rival, Confederate Gen. Beauregard, portrayed by historian Larry McCluney, Jr. These first-person living history portrayals bring the past to life in a unique way,” says Beth Pippin, Hardin County’s tourism director.

the event has grown in popularity each year over the last ten years, Pippin adds. A limited number of tickets will be available, sold in advance only. The breakfast will be held in an outdoor venue under a heated tent enclosure. The Tennessee River Museum in downtown Savannah will be open every day for tours during the Shiloh 160th Anniversary observance. A special program called “An Evening with Grant” is planned for the evening of Apr. 2 at the historic Savannah Theater adjacent to the downtown museum. “We are celebrating Grant’s bicentennial, as this April marks the 200th anniversary of his birth,” shares Pippin. “Dr. Fields will again portray Grant on stage at the theater, telling stories of his life as a military man and president.” Attendees may also purchase tickets to a private birthday reception at the museum after the performance with the guest of honor. Advance tickets are available from the Hardin County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The second week in April, Shiloh National Military Park will once again host the annual program that follows in Grant’s footsteps, tracing his trip across the river from Savannah to the park. Rangers will also lead battlefield hikes Apr. 6-8 and demonstrate cannon firing Apr. 9-10 at the park. The river town of Saltillo, TN, just north of Shiloh and Savannah, will be the site of the Tennessee River Primitive Art and Weaponry/ History Festival Apr. 8-10. This fun-filled three-day event is packed full of reenactments from the Native American, Mountain Men, French and Indian War, Revolutionary War and Civil War periods. Food and art vendors and reenactor campsites will be part of the festivities, hosted by the City of Saltillo at the downtown community center. Says event organizer Mike Fields, “We will have many demonstrations throughout the weekend, including cannon firings, flintlock musket firings, ancestral drums, stories, wood carving...not to mention the food. Plus many, many vendors and craftsmen will be on site.”

For more information on Hardin County events and the Battle of Shiloh visit tourhardincounty.org or nps.gov/shil.

Tickets for the Generals Breakfast, An

Evening with Grant, and the Bicentennial

Birthday Reception are available at the

Tennessee River Museum in downtown Savannah or on line at tourhardincounty.org.