New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-04-09

The Battle fields of Shiloh and CorIuth.


i tCornth tNssJ Correspondence the Memphis Argus
A Not the least memorable of the pitched bat
4 ties" of the late war was that which was fought
in front of this grand "intrenched camp" tina
we call Cornth on the Sd and. 4thdays of October
ilSG2.
i During the past two days, portion OF my so
iourn here has been spent as partial explora
tion of that part of the battlefield which lies in
the Memphis and Charleston and Mobile and Ohio
| Railroads. The sights that saw of vast num-
| bers of Confederate bones whole skeletons
and parts of sksletons--lying exposed and bleach
sides, under logs and on stumps; of the neatly en-
closed and well-marked graves of the Federal
soldiers, all buried at the proper depth; and of
the forest trees, in all directions rent and torn by
shot and shell, and all " the storm Of the furious
war" and Of many separate and distinct desper
ate conflicts, hand to hand, and muzzle to muzze--
all the sights, say, are well worthy Of a
brief record Besides, ! have another object in
apart from the qualification of public curiosity,
and that is to urge upon our people the .propriety
Of collecting the bones Of their dead brethren at
some suitable spot near the place, and giving them
gent gentleman Of this town that upon the two
fields OF Shiloh and Corinth in this vicinity, there
are not less than $4,000 !" Confederate dead,'
whose bones, for the most part, are bleaching
above the ground. 2tIliH III .,Hst
OF all the Confederate dead on this field Colonel
Rogers is, am told the only one who was prop
erly buried deep enough to prevent the rains from
washing the dirt away and exposing the bones.
He, 1t Is said was buried under the immediate
supervision of Gen. Rosecrans. 3i
In the northwestern angle formed by the cross-
Ing of the railroads, from Corinth ont to and
beyond the outer line of works, three and a half
miles distant the whole Of this great battle-ground
is dotted here and therein some places thick as
meadow mole-hs--with the graves of Federal
and the exposed remains of Confederate dead.
The Confederate dead, it clearly appears, were
merely covered upon the ground where they fell.
usual way, with head and foot boards in every
instance, and in most cases, | believe, were
enclosed with wooden palings. / saw but one
Confederate tatns,iluS where the bones-generally
the skulls--were not more or less exposed and
scattered around In all directions. at the outer
line Of entertainments, where portion of Maurys
divisions made the assault, saw two human skull
bones, one pelvisand two jaw, bones lying on
stump. with no trace OF grave or tunaulus nearer
than fifty or hundred yards. "
In front of the onter breastworks, not far from
the same spot saw two fttnauli, where six or
eight Confederate dead has been covered up on
the side of hill. Here several skulls, and the
feet OF most Of the bodies had been uncovered
be the action of the elements, and were lying
around upon the ground, already bleached per,
fectly white, and of course rapidly crumbling to
decay. The condition of these t,,7,,uli am told
by gentlemen residing in the vicinity who have
examined every part of the field,Is a fair speci
men of all the rest In one place (as | was
informed BY Capt. Mask, of this town. who, with
Colonel Polk. rode over the field with me)
the bodies of two or three Contederates were
placed by the side of q log, Ito saye labor, /
suppGse,) and a little dirt thrown upon them !:
the dirt had all washed away, and there the
skeletons lie, wholly exposed and uncared for,
"like the beasts that PERISH"