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Many (many) moons ago I read a great report from the Battle of Shiloh, which I would love to share with folks, but I hesitate because I cannot now find the diary or letter from which it came. Hoping somebody will recognize this tale. As I remember it:
On 6 April, as rebel forces were slowly and surely pushing Grant's left flank men back towards the Tennessee River, the lee side of Shiloh Hill became a seething mass of terrified Yankees. These men were as sure of defeat as the Southerners were of victory, and many tried to board the transports and Navy gunboats just offshore--so many, in fact, that the crews had to beat them off with musket butts and boarding pikes lest their weight capsize the ships! In hopes of exhorting the men back to their duty, a preacher from one of the Midwestern regiments challenged the crowd with the question, "Would you stand by and see your nation clove in twain?" One man (I believe a sergeant) who had seen quite enough of the elephant that day, replied, "Preacher, my ass is clove in twain--and it works just fine!"
Chances are I picked this story up as a kid from some piece of historical fiction. It's such a great story, though, that I'd love to find where it came from. Hoping it's true . . .
On 6 April, as rebel forces were slowly and surely pushing Grant's left flank men back towards the Tennessee River, the lee side of Shiloh Hill became a seething mass of terrified Yankees. These men were as sure of defeat as the Southerners were of victory, and many tried to board the transports and Navy gunboats just offshore--so many, in fact, that the crews had to beat them off with musket butts and boarding pikes lest their weight capsize the ships! In hopes of exhorting the men back to their duty, a preacher from one of the Midwestern regiments challenged the crowd with the question, "Would you stand by and see your nation clove in twain?" One man (I believe a sergeant) who had seen quite enough of the elephant that day, replied, "Preacher, my ass is clove in twain--and it works just fine!"
Chances are I picked this story up as a kid from some piece of historical fiction. It's such a great story, though, that I'd love to find where it came from. Hoping it's true . . .