Rethinking Shiloh

Ulysses S. Grant once remarked that the Battle of Shiloh ';has been perhapsless understood, or, to state the case more accurately, more persistentlymisunderstood, than any other engagement . . . during the entire rebellion.'In Rethinking Shiloh, Timothy B. Smith seeks to rectify these persistentmyths and misunderstandings, arguing that some of Shiloh's story is eithernot fully examined or has been the result of a limited and narrow collectivememory established decades ago. Continuing the work he began in TheUntold Story of Shiloh, Smith delves even further into the story of Shilohand examines in detail how the battle has been treated in historiography andpublic opinion. The nine essays in this collection uncover new details about thebattle, correct some of the myths surrounding it, and reveal new avenues ofexploration. The topics range from a compelling analysis and description ofthe last hours of General Albert Sidney Johnston to the effect of the NewDeal on Shiloh National Military Park and, subsequently, our understandingof the battle. Smith's careful analyses and research bring attention tothe many relatively unexplored parts of Shiloh such as the terrain, theactual route of Lew Wallace's march, and post-battle developments thataffect currently held perceptions of thatfamed clash between Union andConfederate armies in West Tennessee. Studying Shiloh should alert readers and historians to the likelihoodof misconceptions in other campaigns and warsincluding today's militaryconflicts. By reevaluating aspects of the Battle of Shiloh often ignored bymilitary historians, Smith's book makes significant steps toward a morecomplete understanding and appreciation of the Shiloh campaign in all of itsramifications.