Shiloh - "Cry Havoc!"

Join me at Shiloh National Military Park for a unique walking tour based on the expericence of my ancestors, my Second Great Grandfather John Henry Coker and my Third Great Uncle, Albert Coker.  This tour will follow the movements of Aaron B. Hardcastle's 3rd Mississippi Battalion as my teenaged ancestors fought their way into history on April 6 and 7, 1862 at the monumental Battle of Shiloh.  

• We'll begin in Wood's Field at the site where my ancestors lay in wait and watched through the night in anticipation of what the dawning of the day would bring.
• As the "tip of spear" we'll stand in line with Hardcastle's 3rd Mississippi Battalion as they engage the 25th Missouri in the first shots fired in Fraley's Field.
• We'll move through the battle pushing past the ghosts of farmsteads and cabins as the infantry advance becomes an avalance of Southern men rolling through or over anything it their path as we reach the Union camps.
• Around 12:00 P.M. we'll halt our movements as we enjoy a BBQ lunch at the picnic pavilion on the grounds. 
• At 1:30 in the afternoon we'll rejoin the fight as we move up the Hamburg-Purdy Road and watch in our mind's eye as Wood's Brigade dashes across the road and captures the Union guns on the other side.
• Then we'll move along with Hardcastle's men as they provide support to the largest artillery bombardment in North American history up to that time as General Daniel Ruggles pounds the 'Hornets' Nest' with sixty-two cannon into submission.
• Lastly will conclude the program at the Confederate Memorial and unlock the hidden meaning of the alagorical symbolism that captured the eternal spirit of the struggle in stone and bronze in order to preserve the history against loss for future generations.

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