Scooters - The Battle of Shiloh

Sunday morning we packed our Honda ADV150 Scooters, filled up the hydration bottle and headed off for a new adventure!

After a quick stop at the corner service station to fill the gas tanks we turned onto the Natchez Trace heading north.

We rode about 30 miles north and then exited the Trace for some delicious rural back roads.  Eric outdid himself on this part of our adventure.  I think he found the most twisty, scenic roads in Northern Mississippi!  Many of the roads had no lines and plenty of potholes, lol.  Beautiful tree canopies, lush fields, no traffic!  It was glorious and our scooters just purred along.

Before long we left Mississippi ...

And found ourselves in Tennessee!

Our immediate goal was the Scenic Cafe in Ramer, TN.  We had checked out the reviews and they were all good and they serve breakfast all day long!  Super, duper!  Just my kind of place.  I love breakfast foods 😋  Apparently the cafe had gotten a paint job since the review photos.  Looked pretty sharp on the outside except for the faded sign.  Touted by reviewers as a greasy spoon, dive joint with home cooking we thought it might be worth the visit.

This was the sign in the parking lot.

 Walking through the front door there were four tables pushed together on the left and two tables for four on the right.  There was another table for two next to the bathroom door.  We chose the empty table for four in the back corner.  (Look at the floor - see all the missing tiles?)  I'm not even going to talk about the cleanliness level, hahahahaha.

They serve breakfast all day along with lunch.  Here is their brekkie menu.  The prices were very reasonable!

Here is the cook/waiter behind his counter where the magic happens.

The red door in the back left is the restroom and the open doorway is the clean up room.  The table for two is in front of both these doors.  Not such a desirable dining location 😆

I ordered a standard bacon and egg brekkie with hashbrowns and toast.  My bacon was overcooked but I have to take the blame because I asked for it to be crispy.  Oh well, it was still yummy.

Eric ordered the breakfast burrito and is was GIGANTIC!!!  I should have put something next to it to give you perspective.  Guess you'll just have to take my word - MASSIVE!!!

The Scenic Cafe was indeed an authentic greasy spoon diner.  The food was good but I got grossed out when I saw little piss ants crawling on the jam bottles that sat at the end of the table.  GROSS!!!!  😬  I don't think the Scenic Cafe will be on our must do list in the future.  Been there done that, don't want the T-shirt.  (Eric says he may stop in again...)

Back on our trusty steeds we turned toward Shiloh and the Shiloh National Military Park.  A few weeks ago we had visited Corinth, MS and the Civil War Battlefield and intended on going up to Shiloh but time was short so we postponed Shiloh for another day.  Today is that day!  I'm so glad we didn't try to visit both on the same day.  There is so much to take in at both locations that each deserves it's own day for exploration.

Shiloh National Military Park consists of 5,000 acres.  Producing 23,746 casualties, the battle was the largest engagement in the Mississippi Valley campaign during the Civil War.  I'm not a Civil War or History buff but I have been enjoying learning more about our new home area.  Shiloh is a definite must see and plan to spend several hours because it will take that long to watch the video and tour the area.  Actually you could probably spend several days here and still not see it all.

Here we stopped for the obligatory park entrance photo.

Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we toured the marvelous displays and started to get a feel for what happened at the Battle of Shiloh.  Our timing was perfect as the introductory video would start in about 10 minutes.  We got through most of the display and then took our seats in the auditorium.  Oh, Covid protocols were definitely in place.  Masks required in all Federal buildings and the seats in the auditorium were widely spaced.  The video was 45 minutes.  We were both a bit surprised at the length of the video but the time passed quickly as the video was totally absorbing.  Absolutely take the time to view the video before going out on the tour.  After the video, we finished reading the displays and then hopped on the scooters to do the auto tour.

The next several photos were all taken outside at the Visitor Center.

The  Shiloh National Military Park preserves the battlefield of the Battle of Shiloh (also called the Battle of Pittsburg Landing). The two-day battle, which took place on April 6 and April 7, 1862, was one of the first major battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. It involved approximately 65,000 Union troops under Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell and 44,000 Confederates under Albert Sidney Johnston (killed in the battle) and P.G.T. Beauregard. This resulted in nearly 24,000 lives lost.  The two days of fighting did not end in a decisive tactical victory for either side—the Union held the battlefield but failed to pursue the withdrawing Confederate forces. Strategically, however, it was a decisive defeat for the Confederate forces that had concentrated to oppose Grant’s and Buell’s invasion through Tennessee.

We were given a park map and told to just follow the "Tour" signs.  You can also sign up for a guided tour.  We opted to go on our own.  The grounds are kept tidy although some informational signs needed attention.  Basically, following the "Tour" signs we meandered along the park roads, stopping at various monuments and signs.

There were cannons everywhere!  A lot of cannons!  In fact there are 229 cannons or artillery pieces on site of which only 2 are not original Civil War artifacts!

There were also monuments everywhere.  There were 21 states represented at the Battle of Shiloh but only twelve of those states have monuments on the battlefield.

Just look at how beautiful it is all leafed out and grass trimmed.  It was simply delightful to ride through the park.  It was also a bit overwhelming when thinking about the carnage that occurred here in a two day period.  So horrific and sad and now such a lovely tribute.

This monument is called "Defeated Victory".

Monuments of Confederate and Union leadership are scattered throughout the park.

More cannons!  They had the field artillery set up as accurately as possible based on diaries and journals.  Also, the information signs faced the appropriate direction of battle depending on Union or Confederate positions.  This was an in your face, close-up battle and the casualties reflect that.

We came upon the Shiloh Cemetery.  This is still a current cemetery.

Right after the cemetery was the Shiloh Log Church.  A place that saw a great deal of action on those two days in April  1862.

This is the original Shiloh Meeting House (Log Church).

The Hornet's Nest - a deadly impenetrable thicket trapped soldiers, decimating Confederate infantry.

The grounds are just so stunningly beautiful and peaceful.  To imagine the Battle of Shiloh, the massive number of military, the incredible loss of life, it's humbling. 

This is a mass Confederate gravesite.

Our final leg of the "Tour" brought us down to the Tennessee River which was critical to the Union campaign.  The Union leaders were able to move troops, artillery, supplies and support via steamboats which made an overland trip of two weeks a three day affair.  Many boats also shelled inland with larger cannons than were used in the field.  Exploding shells and large grape shot were used by both ship and field cannons along with more standard balls and shells.

This is a photo of the National Cemetery at Shiloh.

Pittsburg Landing - where the Union forces landed.

A few more National Cemetery photos.

That concluded our Battle of Shiloh tour.  I'm so glad we took the time to watch the video and then leisurely take the tour.  I could go back and spend more time reading all the plaques and information signs.  Fortunately for us it was a lovely day with comfortable temperatures and no humidity.  Perfect for a scooter adventure!

Oh, but our adventure didn't end yet!  Eric had routed us a different path home and we were enjoying our little, twisty rural lanes until .... we got to Pickwick Dam on the Tennessee River.  At the entrance to the marina were several people in the middle of the road, stopping traffic and telling them to turn around.  What?  Apparently there was a serious head-on collision on the bridge and it was blocked.  Police hadn't yet arrived 😟  We had no option but to turn around and find another way home.  Neither of us wanted to be on Highway 45, a big 4 lane highway with 65 mph speed limits so Eric poked his GPS and looked at the map and away we went.

We came to a Y in the road and Eric took this opportunity to poke some more. While we were sitting there a truck pulled up beside us and the gentleman pointed to the right arm of the Y.  So, that's where we went!  And this is what we found!!!

Actually, it was the best gravel/dirt road I've taken the scooter on so far.  Pretty hard packed and smooth but for some washboard in places.  LOL, I actually got the little scoot up to 35 mph on this stretch.  That's a big deal for me 😆

We managed to detour around the accident and actually get back on Eric's original route which, of course, put us on the Natchez Trace for the last 30 miles home!

What a day!  225 miles of scooter fun, a dining experience at the Scenic Cafe, a visit to Shiloh and a rocky road adventure all within a nine hour window.  Home a bit late for cocktail hour but I didn't let that stop me, lol.

Where and when is the next adventure?  I dunno yet but we do have some fun activities coming up in the next few weeks.  Thanks for following along and stay tuned for new adventures!

Cheers,

Cletha & Eric