Herman Melville and Shiloh There are many poets of the Civil War and many poems, but I have chosen to write about Herman Melville, his life, and his poem: Shiloh-A Requiem. I plan to analyze the poem, the battle of Shiloh itself, and Herman Melville’s course of life. Herman Melville had an interesting life. He was born on August 1st, 1819 to Allen and Maria Melvill of New York. At a young age, he came down with scarlet fever and as a result had weakened eyesight for the remainder of his life. His family was a well-respected one, then their import business fell through and they moved to Albany, New York. Their finances were desperate. During this time they changed the spelling of their last name and added an e, to be spelled, Melville. …show more content…
On the Morning of April 6, 1862, General Albert Sidney Johnson lead 40,000 Confederate soldiers through a forest in southwestern Tennessee near Pittsburg Landing, The Shiloh church, and the Tennessee River, until they came upon their destination, a Union camp. The Union soldiers were taken by surprise as it was early in the morning. Some men were still sleeping, eating breakfast, or just emerging from their tents. Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and his men were driven out of their camps back towards the river and the church. Grant refused to lose. He ordered his men to not move an inch at all costs and to form a battle line, which became known as the “Hornets Nest.” The Confederate general Johnson was killed the first day of battle, and Pierre GT Beauregard took his place the next day. The counterattack and the higher Union majority of troops forced the Confederates back, and the “Hornets Nest” remained intact. As the battle came to a close, it was a Union victory. However, it came at a high price: about 23,746 casualties in total were estimated. Approximately 13,047 Union, and 13,724 …show more content…
Shiloh demonstrated that the Union had the resources and manpower to prevail and was ready to risk their lives to do so. The battle was the most surreal example of how many men it was possible to slaughter in battle. Overall, it was shocking, morbid, and horrendous how much death there was, especially to the people then. Now, on to Melville’s poem, Shiloh-A Requiem. First of all, the title of the poem is ironic. Shiloh was a city in the Torah where the Ten Commandments were kept. One of the Ten Commandments is, “Thou shalt not kill.” This makes the setting of the poem all the more ironic, a battle taking place around that church. The poem begins by stating that it is a requiem, which is an act of remembrance of the souls of the dead. “Skimming slightly, wheeling still, the swallows fly low over the field in clouded days,” The birds (swallows, to be exact) are mentioned twice, at the beginning and end of the poem. They seem to be the introduction and closing. They are solemn and peaceful, yet are also reminders of the battle. Or are they peaceful? The clouds could represent the clouded confusion of the battle and aftermath, and the sad and melancholy tones of the area
Though in his short life Stephen Crane was never a soldier, his novel The Red Badge of Courage was commended by Civil War veterans as well as veterans from more recent wars not only for its historical accuracy but its ability to capture the psychological evolution of those on the field of battle (Heizberg xvi). Walt Whitman, on the other hand, served as a field medic during the Civil War. He was exposed perhaps to the most gruesome aspect of the war on a daily basis: the primitive medical techniques, the wounded, the diseased, the dying and the dead. Out of his experiences grew a collection of poems, "Drum Taps" , describing the horrors he had witnessed and that America suffered. As literary artists, a wide chasm of structure and style separates Crane and Whitman. The common cultural experience, the heritage of the Civil War connects them, throwing a bridge across the darkness, allowing them, unilaterally, to dispel notions of glorious battles and heroic honorable deaths. By examining Crane's Henry Fleming and the wound dresser from 'Whitman's poem of the same name, both fundamental literary differences and essential thematic consistencies emerge.
Over many centuries, Poetry and song has been a way for people to explore their feelings, thoughts and questions about War & Peace. Rupert Brooke's “The Soldier” and Cold Chisel’s “Khe Sanh” provide two different insights into the nature of war. . “The Soldier” conveys a message of bravery for soldiers to go into war and fight while “Khe sanh” conveys a message about post-traumatic stress and the horrible factors of coming back into civilization after war.
The “Shiloh” is a song. Saving America’s Civil War Battlefields: Civil War Trust. Civil War Trust.
...the most horrifying part of the surgeries was the absence of anesthesia and antiseptics. Each hurt man would have to be held down as he experienced excruciating pain, but many passed out and later died of infection. Finally, I realized how much suffering two opposing forces can bring upon one country: dying soldiers, devastated country, and unbearable sadness. For example, Foote describes the mile-long lines of men from the South and North opposing each other. Each side would test the cannon's range, and, after a while, would be destroying huge groups of men and creating gaping holes in the earth. As a northern infantryman said as he watched the mini balls cut down his friends, "they died for nothing" (p.191). The front line would also shoot grapeshot that would burst into thousands of tiny pieces and destroy the other army's front line. All of Shiloh was about two sides of America fighting over slaver! y and secession. About 26, 000 men died without respect, a prayer, or a marked grave. Shiloh is a historically accurate book that would interest anyone who likes to read about the Civil War and wants to understand the pain and suffering our country went through on April 6-7, 1862.
...t is arguable that the birds fight is also a metaphor, implying the fight exists not only between birds but also in the father’s mind. Finally, the last part confirms the transformation of the parents, from a life-weary attitude to a “moving on” one by contrasting the gloomy and harmonious letter. In addition, readers should consider this changed attitude as a preference of the poet. Within the poem, we would be able to the repetitions of word with same notion. Take the first part of the poem as example, words like death, illness
A Confederate soldier on the wall at the Heights recollected seeing, “…Single bodies…scattered at increased distances until the main mass of the dead lay thickly strewn over the ground.” The Confederates deliberate defensive positions on the hill were just too intense for the Potomac forces to penetrate. Despite the failing state of his plan, Burnside continued to send division after division up the hill until nightfall. No one made it past that well defended wall. Burnside’s inability to assess the battle and alter his plan contributed to the slaughter of thousands of Federal soldiers.
The Battle of Shiloh was an extraordinary event in the civil war timeline and would be a great deal as to when the war was fought at its hardest. The sources I have researched and collected will help me better understand this battle and many other facts I have yet to discover. The Battle of Shiloh is not the most well known battle during the Civil war, but it gives us an idea on how gruesome the fighting was during this time. I view this battle as a turning point for the Union and the continuing losses for the Confederate army as they try to gain back territory. Officers of each side had separate plans, where the Union needed to take the Memphis and Charleston Railroads, and the Confederates just wanted to stop the Union troops from advancing further south(CWPT).
Kenedy, X.J., and Dana Goia. "Shiloh." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. Dana Goina and X.J. Kenedy. Eleventh edition. New York: Longman, 2010. pg. 569-578. Print.
September 16-18, 1862, outside of the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland, between the Potomac River and Antietam Creek, was the location of the bloodiest battle in American history. Confederate Colonel Stephen D. Lee described it as “Artillery Hell” because of the frightful toll on his gunners and horses from Federal counter battery and infantry fire. (AotW, 2014) The battle of Antietam, or the Battle of Sharpsburg, would collect an estimated 23,100 total casualties (Luvaas and Nelson, 1987). The body count far exceeded any of the other three battles waged in the Maryland Campaign (Harpers Ferry, South Mountain, and Shepherdstown). This battle was a contributing factor in the outcome of our country and the rest of the world. The Union Army desperately needed a victory at Antietam; however, a victory for the Confederate rebels may have very well gained them international recognition as a sovereign country in the eyes of the rest of the world. The Federal Army, which belonged to the Union States, consisted of an all-volunteer army and was a larger army than the Confederate States. Even though the Battle of Antietam was inconclusive, President Lincoln went on to read the Emancipation Proclamation to the country, effectively ending slavery, and ensuring that no foreign nation would intervene on the Confederates behave.
Confederate sharpshooters claimed the lives of several key Union officers during the morning assault on the fort. The losses included the commanding officer Major Loinel F. Booth, and his second in command shortly after that. These losses created a complete breakdown of order and leadership among the Union troops within the fort. (251) During the morning engagement, the gun boat the New Era was continually attempting to shell the Confederate forces from the Mississippi, but with minimal success. The Union forces fought back heartily until around one o¹clock in the afternoon, when both sides slowed down.
The Battle of Gettysburg lasted three days in the summer of 1863. On July 1st, the confederates drove the Union defenders back to Cemetery Hill. The following day Lee attacked the flanks of the Union line which resulted in brutal fighting at Devil’s Den, Little Round Top, the Wheatfield, Peach Orchard, Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill. Although the confederates gained ground on July 2nd, they failed to budge the Union army from many of their positions. On the third day of the battle,...
Born in the city of New York on August 1, 1819, Melville was the third
The novel, “Shiloh” by Shelby Foote is a fictional recreation of the bloody battle. The story begins with the soldiers of the Confederate Army heading towards Pittsburg Landing. The men are marching in terrible conditions. It is pouring down rain and they are dragging their tired legs through the mud. The troops come to a halt so the commanders can talk to General Johnston. General Johnston says the only way they might have a chance is if they plan a surprise attack. As the sergeants hand the men their guns, they are told to check the powder in case it got wet in the rain. A group of soldiers test their guns out on a deer running close by. At the same time the shots were fired, the sun came out and the soldiers started to scream and cheer. These noises combined were more than enough to alert the Union soldiers of the Confederates advance. Palmer remembers what his life was like before going to war. He attended the Louisiana State Military Academy when the Confederacy seceded from the Union. One of his professors predicted the south did not have a chance of winning the war. That night Palmer dreams of holding Sherman at gunpoint making him admit that he was wrong. Prior to the battle, the commanders create a battle plan. Palmer is assigned a part in this process. When the plan fails, Palmer learns that planning a battle is more difficult than it seems because the commanders on the ground face challenges that do not exist on paper.
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 to Nathaniel Hathorne and Elizabeth Clarke Manning. Hawthorne’s father was a sea captain and died of yellow fever in 1808 when Nathaniel was only four years old. After the death of his father, his mother, two sisters, and he moved in with his mother’s relatives, the Manning’s, and lived there for ten years. Hawthorne discovered journals that his father had written as a sailor over the years, showing an immediate interest which inspired him to become a writer. In 1821, Hawthorne started college at Bowdoin College with the financial support of his uncle, Robert Manning. He was elected Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, graduated in 1825, and published his first work, a novel called “Fanshawe” in 1828. Shortly after graduating, Hawthorne added the “w” to his last name in order to hide his relation to one of his ancestors, John Hathorne, one of the only judges involved in the Salem witch trials and never repented of his actions.