Shiloh in Hardin County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Peabody's Hunch

A Chance Union Patrol

— Shiloh National Military Park —

Peabody's Hunch Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 13, 2021

1. Peabody's Hunch Marker

Inscription. In the pre-dawn of April 6, 1862, Union forces were unaware of nearly 44,000 Confederate troops ready to march upon them from the southwest. General Ulysses S. Grant was under strict orders not to provoke a battle before General Don Carlos Buell's Union army arrived to join him. Union patrols were instructed to defend themselves only and return to camp if they encountered southern forces. Without orders to do so, an alert Union brigade commander, Colonel Everett Peabody of General Benjamin Prentiss' division, suspicious of increased enemy activity, sent out a patrol of 250 men. Through the darkness, this small force passed well beyond their own picket lines to arrive here around 4:55 am. Three pistol shots shattered the silence and the alarmed Federals watched Confederate troopers gallop away down the Corinth road to your left. Peabody's unauthorized patrol had stumbled upon enemy pickets screening General Albert Sidney Johnston's Confederate army.

(caption) A short walk down the path ahead of you leads to Fraley Field where the battle began.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. (Marker

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Number Stop7.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is April 6, 1862.

Location. 35° 7.252′ N, 88° 21.427′ W. Marker is in Shiloh, Tennessee, in Hardin County. It is at the intersection of Corinth Road and Reconnoitering Road, on the right when traveling south on Corinth Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Shiloh TN 38376, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee.

It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: 8th and 9th Arkansas Battalions (within shouting distance of this marker); 25th Missouri Infantry (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); 21st Missouri and Pickets (about 500 feet away); The Battle Begins

Peabody's Hunch Marker at Fraley Field image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 13, 2021

2. Peabody's Hunch Marker at Fraley Field

(about 500 feet away); 7th Arkansas and 2d Arkansas (about 600 feet away); 3rd Mississippi Infantry Battalion (approx. ¼ mile away); 21st Missouri and pickets (approx. 0.3 miles away); Confederate Attack (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Shiloh.

Also see . . . Shiloh National Military Park. National Park Service (Submitted on October 17, 2021.)

Union Advance image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 13, 2021

3. Union Advance

Reconnoitering party under Major Powell advancing from this position 80 yds. W., attacked Hardcastle's pickets at 4:55 A.M., April 6, 1862.

Confederate Picket Post image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Bernard Fisher, October 13, 2021

4. Confederate Picket Post

Major Hardcastle's picket post in front of Hardee's line of battle was at corner of two fields ¼ mile west, Sunday morning, April 6, 1862.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 19, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 17, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 612 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 17, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. 3, 4. submitted on October 19, 2021, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.