I fulfilled a nearly life-long ambition last week: I traveled to Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee. Ever since I heard about Shiloh on Ken Burns’ “The Civil War,” I yearned to see this place.
My original desire to see Shiloh centered on two things: General U.S. Grant’s victory during an otherwise abysmal year for the Union Army, and the ironic meaning of “Shiloh.”
Let me give you a little Biblical background before I get ahead of myself. “Shiloh” is a Hebrew word meaning “Place of Peace.” It was at Shiloh that Hannah asked God for a son. The Lord gave her Samuel within a year. She fulfilled her promise to give her son to the Lord if only He would bless her with a child. She had the priest Eli raise him at Shiloh.
It was there that God first spoke to Samuel as a boy. You can read about this in 1 Samuel 1-3. Samuel was one of the greatest Old Testament prophets, and had the honor of anointing David as king.
Back to the battle of Shiloh. It was fought on April 6 and 7, 1862, on farmland and in woods surrounding a small rustic church named Shiloh Meeting House. The battlefield encompasses 4,200 acres.
Before the Union Army arrived in March, I’m sure Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River near the church, was every bit as serene as it was when my mom and I walked the grounds October 12 and 13. Birds chirped. Squirrels gathered nuts. Deer congregated to munch grass at dusk. We counted 11 in one spot.
And then there is the church. A beautiful brick and stone Methodist church stands on the site of the original Shiloh Meeting House. The new church holds worship services and Sunday school every week. This makes me smile.
Between 1999 and 2001 Shiloh Meeting House was rebuilt across from the spot where it stood before the battle using 150-year-old logs. Logs were split in two to make primitive benches. The windows have curtains, but no glass.
A tattered Bible sets on a lectern, opened to Psalm 27. Verses one and three read, “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?...Though an host [army] should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.” (KJV)
Having a Bible open to these verses is no coincidence.
I felt both an incredible sense of God’s presence, of His light, at Shiloh, and an overwhelming feeling of evil – darkness. Let me explain.
Of all the spots on the battlefield, two stand out as the most spiritually significant. The first is Shiloh Meeting House and the surrounding grounds, including a trail that runs through a forest across from the church. I felt the soothing presence of the Holy Spirit wash over me at that place. It is hallowed ground.
The second place was at a spot called The Hornet’s Nest, where a horrendous clash between Union and Confederate troops occurred. The landscape is largely responsible for what happened there.
There’s a sunken road running along the battlefield, and Mom and I walked this red dirt path leading to dense woods. It’s new growth now (younger trees) with tangled briars and undergrowth clogging the forest. It would be nearly impossible to maneuver in there.
We crossed a paved road to reach The Hornet’s Nest. As soon as I set foot in the area, I wanted to leave. I felt a dark presence. Have you ever experienced this? It’s a sort of squeezing in my chest along with a strong urge to leave. It’s been a long time since I felt that way, but I always recognize it and get out as soon as possible. We didn’t linger.
I believe there is an evil presence in The Hornet’s Nest because of what happened there. Union troops under the command of General Benjamin Prentiss repulsed eight Confederate assaults.
Despite massed Union artillery fire, Confederates surrounded the Federals. They fought for something like seven hours in the ravine I saw, which is now a tangle of young growth forest and briars. It was old growth forest then, but still in a ravine.
I can’t find an exact number of men who died there, but it was in the hundreds. Confederates took the surviving Union soldiers prisoner, including Prentiss.
However you slice it, it’s a very dark place.
Please understand: I do not believe in ghosts. That’s baloney. God takes our spirits to heaven or permits them to go to hell. Period. None of those men’s spirits still exist on earth. But there may well be a demonic presence in The Hornet’s Nest. I’ll never forget that place.
Nor will I ever forget visiting Shiloh. Rarely have I felt both the presence of God and of evil so powerfully in the same place. The shedding of blood for causes both sides passionately believed in hallowed this ground.
I am so grateful that this battlefield has been preserved, and for the chance to visit it. I highly recommend journeying to Shiloh if you have an opportunity.
As an aside, Thursday, October 25, is Trick-Or-Treat night in the Atlantic community. East Fallowfield Township residents will see superheroes, princesses, and skeletons, ghosts, and vampires between 6 and 8 p.m. West Fallowfield Township’s trick-or-treaters will be knocking on doors between 5:30 and 7 p.m. Please be extra careful driving that night.
Have a wonderful week. Blessings!