The Guns of Shiloh: A Story of the Great Western Campaign

In Joseph Altsheler’s “The Guns of Shiloh,” Kentuckian Dick Mason and a cadre of friends make their way from defeat at Bull Run to a victory of sorts at Shiloh, avoiding ambush along the way and capture on the battlefield. This historical Civil War novel follows standard juvenile formulas of the early 20th century, as its heroes cycle from adventure to respite to new adventure. They are for the most part as blithe and chipper as heroes of baseball stories or scouting tales. At one point Dick goes AWOL briefly to visit his mother, a desertion much-commended by his CO. The juvenile stuff is woven into a fairly straightforward narrative of various campaigns, including the battle of Mill Springs (January 1862, in Kentucky), and the taking of Forts Henry and Donelson.