Confederate mass grave on Jones Field Road, Shiloh National Military Park
SHILOH BATTLEFIELD TOUR STOP #11
The Shiloh’s Casualties stop on the tour of Shiloh National Military Park marks one of five known mass graves of Confederate soldiers, this one located near the corner of Jones Field Road and Hamburg-Savannah Road. Since the Union was the victor, it became responsible for treating the Confederate wounded and burying the Confederate dead. Not wanting to put much effort into the task, bodies were piled into mass graves. Union soldiers who were assigned to burial duty reported they were supplied with plenty of whisky so they could get drunk to the point where handling decomposing bodies did not bother them. Overall, 1,728 Confederate soldiers died in the battle.
Union mass graves existed at the time as well. However, all of these bodies were exhumed and reinterred at Shiloh National Cemetery beginning in 1866.
In addition to the mass grave on Jones Field Road, two mass graves are located at Rhea Field, one is at Water Oaks Pond, and one is at Woolf Field. Historical records indicate there were other Confederate mass graves, but the locations have been lost to time.
Next Tour Stop | Previous Tour Stop | Main Battlefield Tour Page
With a few exceptions, use of any photograph on the National Park Planner website requires a paid Royalty Free Editorial Use License or Commercial Use License. See the Photo Usage page for details.
Last updated on February 5, 2022
