I thought I had seen all the major monuments at Shiloh...until today. In a back road of the park, ner the site of the fiercest battle was a small gravel road leading to this marvelous statue.
"The Hornets' Nest represented the site of numerous defensive positions for the Union Army. The Confederate Army looked as if they would over-run the positions. Were it not for the defense in this area, Grant himself would have been in danger in day 1 of the battle, April 6, 1862. These soldiers held off 14 charges across an open field (to be posted later) until the Confederates lined up 87 cannons across the field, and let loose the largest artillery barrage ever witnessed in North America to that point. The soldiers, who died by the hundreds, held on until nightfall. This allowed the Army of the Ohio, under General Buell, to cross the river over night, and turned the battle with 12,000 reinforcements. The war turned on that day. This monument commemorates the service of the soldiers of the State of Wisconsin. Of the 600 in the largest company, casualties (killed/wounded/missing were 80%.