Were there any Conecuh County soldiers, units at the Battle of Shiloh?

'Bloody Pond' at Shiloh National Military Park.

My young son and I spent last Thursday at Shiloh National Military Park in Tennessee. We’ve been to a number of old Civil War battlefields over the years, but this was one of the best we’ve ever visited. We got to the park around 11 a.m. and spent most of the day enjoying the park’s 12.7-mile driving tour.

This tour, which features about 20 individual stops, took us to some of the most famous locations in Civil War history, including the infamous Hornets’ Nest, the Peach Orchard and Pittsburg Landing. Prior to this week, I’d only read about these places in books, and it was exciting to see them in person for the first time. There really is no better way to learn about an old battlefield than to walk the ground where it took place.

As many of you will remember from school, the Battle of Shiloh was a two-day battle that took place in April 1862 on the west bank of the Tennessee River in Hardin County, Tenn. Over 103,000 soldiers took part in this battle, which resulted in over 23,000 casualties – more than all previous American wars combined up to that point. Despite heavier losses on the Union side, the battle went down in the history books as a Union victory.

While planning our trip in the days leading up to last Thursday, I ran across a number of articles about unusual, ghostly events at the Shiloh battlefield. Many of these stories center around what’s known as the “Bloody Pond.” This small pond is located a short walk from the infamous Peach Orchard, and during the battle, soldiers from both sides came to drink and wash their wounds, which turned the water red as the pond filled with their blood. Other sources say that many men and horses died at the pond due to injuries and exhaustion.

In the years since the battle, some say the pond still turns red from time to time. Sources say that park rangers believe the pond turns red due to algae that blooms during the hottest months of the year. Others say that the pond looks red on certain days when the sun hits it just right.

Other sources say that they’ve seen the ghost of a woman in a white dress in this area. Some say she is the wife of one of the soldiers in the battle, while others say that she helped nurse the wounded men. Witnesses say that the woman quickly disappears if anyone approaches her.

Shiloh has also been the scene of many reenactments over the years and a couple of reenactors several years ago reported seeing the shadow of a person pass between them near Bloody Pond. This happened around dusk and scared one man so bad that he fell to his knees. This unusual shadow disappeared shortly after it passed between the two men.

Last Thursday, my son and I walked all the way around Bloody Pond and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. The pond is small - less than an acre, I’d say - and it only took a few minutes to walk all the way around it. It was another landmark of the war that I’d heard much about over the years, and it was neat to see it in person for the first time.

In the end, I was left wondering if any old Conecuh County soldiers fought at the Battle of Shiloh. If anyone in the reading audience knows of any such soldiers or what unit they were with, please let me know. It would be interesting to know what role they played in this famous Civil War battle.