In the morning we visited the Shiloh National Battleground. Here General Johnston and Beauregard of the Confederates attacked Grant’s Union Army to stop their advance into Western Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. As in many of the other civil war battlefields we visited, one army delaying another army made the difference. The confederate army had come up from Mississippi without being seen, until a chance encounter at 5 AM in the morning. They took the Grant’s army by surprise, but one line in the center that held a low road, managed to hold off the Confederates for over 10 hours. In fact, it took the largest artillery bombardment so far in the war to weaken them, enough to be dislodged. They were finally over-run, but that gave Grant enough time to form a second line of defense further back near the Tennessee River. Even more important it gave a second army enough time to reinforce Grant’s troops. That night the Union cannons shot into the Confederate troops all night, not allowing them any sleep. The next day the Union soldiers with their superior numbers attacked and the Confederates had to retreat. One of the inventions of this battle was the first field hospitals, saving many lives by having doctors so close to the battle to handle the wounded.
In the afternoon, we visited Elvis Presley’s Graceland. The audio tour of the mansion was well done, displaying the public rooms on the 2 bottom floors with stories from Elvis or Lisa Marie to go with each room. But probably the highlight of the tour was seeing the many gold records, awards, and especially the costumes – all with your favorite Elvis tunes in the background. They finish up with a video tape of one his concerts in the 70’s. It makes you appreciate what an emotional singer he really was. We also toured his cars, including the famous pink Cadillac, and his airplanes. It was an enjoyable afternoon of reminiscing.
In the afternoon, we visited Elvis Presley’s Graceland. The audio tour of the mansion was well done, displaying the public rooms on the 2 bottom floors with stories from Elvis or Lisa Marie to go with each room. But probably the highlight of the tour was seeing the many gold records, awards, and especially the costumes – all with your favorite Elvis tunes in the background. They finish up with a video tape of one his concerts in the 70’s. It makes you appreciate what an emotional singer he really was. We also toured his cars, including the famous pink Cadillac, and his airplanes. It was an enjoyable afternoon of reminiscing.
Elvis Outfits
