A Convergence at Shiloh

In the second section of An Epic of the American Civil War, the South rides high on its victory at First Bull Run, while the North seeks renewed commitment to the cause of reunion. Lincoln prods reluctant generals to act, with only one success. In the East, a dilatory general-in-chief makes endless plans, but carries out none of them. In the West, a one-time failure turned warlord closes on the enemy. As battles rage across the West, all roads converge on Shiloh, a field of peach trees and a country church in western Tennessee -- a field where more American blood will be shed in two days of combat than had been shed in all of the nation's previous wars.