Illustrations of the Battle of Shiloh

Carla Ballesteros

Once a military officer, Albert S. Johnston said I would fight them if they were a million!. What he

meant by that was that he is so determined to win the battle that he would risk his own life and fight a million

people all at once. Many would agree that war is one of the most repulsive sides of humanity, however in a

soldiers life hope is still held through, just like in Drummer Boy of Shiloh by Ray Bradbury. The author uses

symbols, such as parts of nature or something as simple as a drummers beat to show the struggles of war. The

author writes about an actual Civil War battle in which young drummer boy leads the army to fight.

In the historical retelling by Ray Bradbury, The Drummer Boy of Shiloh is about Joby, a

drummer boy that reflects about his life and the soldiers life and is afraid of death. Then a general tried to

calm Joby and after the conversation, Joby was convinced that he could run the army. The actual Battle of

Shiloh was a major battle of the American Civil War. The warfare started when the confederates launched a

surprise attack on the Union and it was controlled by General Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederates were unable

to hold ground resulting in a Union victory.

The first symbol I found was the leaves that the General had made into a little pile of leaves.

This connects to the battle because General Albert hoped to defeat the Union major general Ulysses S. and his

army. In an article from historynet.com, Johnston initiated a surprise attack on Gratts camps around

Shiloh Church Since Johnston made that surprise attack it connects to how the leaves can be lit on fire in

any moment.

The 2nd symbol is the tree overhead that symbolizes youth. There was 66,000 Union major

soldiers and 44,000 confederates and they were all mostly very young. In the article Pittsburgh Landing, it

states, surprisingly large number of soldiers in both the union and confederates armies were boys under

the age of 16boys so young they wouldnt be permitted to serve in todays U.S Armed Forces

(www.civilwar.org). The soldiers that fought were mostly underage. In the drummer boy of Shiloh the general
says that he is scared for the youth that doesnt know anything about war. In the text it states, Theres your

cheek, fell right off the tree overhead (pg 169, 90). This says how Joby is so young its almost like he just fell

of the nest.

My last and final symbol is the rhythm of the sound of the drums that represent the soldiers

mental state. In the battle of Shiloh, drummer boys were an important part on the battlefield because it was a

similar sound that anyone could identify. In the website, soldiers.dodlive.mil it states, The sound echoed

through Army camps and battles from before the American Revolution In the battle, the sound of the drums

would transmit orders and also manage camp duties. In the story, the rhythm of the drums would be the only

good thing in the war. In the passage, it states, They would sleep forever, after thattheir hearts slowed by a

drummer and stopped by enemy lead (pg171, 149). Soldiers would calm when they heard the sound of the

drums.

In conclusion, the drum must beat on for all of us. Even if war is detestable, we have to hold

on to the slightest strip of hope. We live in a world where we have to hide to make love, while violence is

practiced in broad daylight-John Lennon.