Features
1C • Daily Corinthian
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Rambeau loves history, becomes Shiloh tour guide BY SARAH ROWLAND For the Daily Corinthian
The day his wife told him her company was relocating her from Virginia to Corinth, Thomas Rambeau couldn’t contain his excitement. He explained to her that just over the state line near their new hometown was the site of one of the most famous and bloodiest battles of the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh. Rambeau has been a long-time “Civil War buff.” His deep interest in the Civil War would seem inevitable growing up near Gettysburg National Military Park, where he frequently visited and gave informal tours to family and friends. He said to become an official Gettysburg tour guide you have to pass a difficult test that some men had been trying to pass for 20 years. The test, along with rearing a family at the time, didn’t allow Rambeau to be a tour guide at Gettysburg. When he began visiting Shiloh National Military Park, though, Rambeau connected with David Stewart, who asked him to be an official tour guide for Shiloh Civil War Tours, which specializes in tours of Shiloh and Corinth. Stewart said when they first met he was very impressed with Rambeau’s knowledge of and enthusiasm for Civil War history and told him he needed to be a guide. Rambeau immersed himself in local Civil War history to the point where Stewart, who holds a bachelor’s in history, said Rambeau probably knows more about the Civil War than he does. Rambeau is only one of two guys who are knowledgeable enough to give tours of Corinth. He said in the feedback they receive about their tours, “Many people say they love Tom because he’s just like a walking encyclopedia,” especially since he not only knows so much about Shiloh history, but how the Battle of Shiloh fits into the history of the entire Civil War. “He adds so much to the community. He’s a terrific guy and a great asset to the community,” said Stewart mentioning also that though Rambeau has only lived in the area less than four years, he’s already made so many friends through his love of Civil War history. Rambeau explained that he has “the gift of
gab.” He said when he’s visiting the park alone he’ll often approach people who may be looking at a monument and ask to explain to them the history behind the monument. He shared many interesting stories of people he’s met through the tours he’s conducted, including several who had ancestors who fought at Shiloh. “Lots of people come here to see where their ancestors fought, which is very emotional,” he said. He had the opportunity to escort a 94-year-old woman and her sons and grandchildren to the 54th Ohio Regiment’s monument, the regiment her great-grandfather fought with and she still remembered his stories of fighting at Shiloh. Rambeau said since a lot of people know what regiment their ancestors fought in, “What I’ll do is I’ll study that regiment before they get here and emphasize that regiment throughout the tour following the regiment around the battlefield and talk about what they did, how many casualties they had, and the prominent people in that regiment.” At the 150th anniversary of the battle two years ago, he met a woman who is a re-enactor from Pittsburgh and the greatgreat-great-granddaughter of the first surgeon killed in the Shiloh battle. “One of the most difficult parts [touring Shiloh] is trying to get people to imagine in their heads what it would have been like. The smoke, the noise, the confusion.” Imagining just the amount of lead flying around the battlefield, “It’s a wonder anybody made it out alive,” he said. He questioned why a foot soldier could make it through the battle untouched, yet Albert Sidney Johnston, the Confederate general, died early in the fighting because of an undetected bullet wound to his leg. “It’s tough bringing southerners here because it’s all set up from a northern point of view,” he said explaining that when the park at Shiloh was founded over 100 years ago, Confederate soldiers weren’t allowed to be buried in the cemetery and many of the first monuments represented the north. Monuments for the South were added years later. “Many southerners have ancestors who
Photos compliments of Jay Poindexter
Tom Rambeau gives a tour inside Shiloh National Cemetery to military veterans Randy and Pam Weaver of Virginia.
Tom Rambeau has a passion for the study of the Civil War and the Corinth resident loves to give tours. His favorite place is Shiloh National Military Park, where he stands beside the Tennessee monument. fought here and they fought bravely and they died here for what they believe in,” he said. He explained that many of the Confederate soldiers were fighting because they believed their country was being invaded and they were fighting for their homes. Rambeau explained that the importance of the Battle of Shiloh was to protect Confederate control of Corinth, where two important railroads crossed. The Union army led by General Ulysses
Grant traveled down the Tennessee River by steamboat and unloaded at Pittsburgh Landing at Shiloh to march toward Corinth while another Union army led by General Don Carlos Buell marched toward Shiloh by land. Confederate General Johnston knew he needed to engage Grant’s army and take Shiloh before Grant and Buell’s armies combined and outnumbered the Confederates. By the end of the first day, it looked as if the
Union army would be defeated, but on the second day the Confederate army took a severe blow as they were greatly outnumbered. The Confederate army retreated to Corinth while the Union army occupied Shiloh. Rambeau explained that Shiloh’s space and terrain gave the Union army plenty of room to comfortably drill and prepare up to 100,000 men for the siege of Corinth one month later. Rambeau said he’s grateful to Stewart for
taking him on as a tour guide and he’s grateful for the park rangers. “They do a wonderful job. You just can’t say enough about these people. I admire them a whole lot.” For more information about Shiloh Civil War Tours or to book a tour visit www.shilohcivilwartours.com or call David Stewart at 662-842-8406. (Sarah Rowland is a freelance writer living in Selmer, Tenn. She contributes to the Daily Corinthian and Crossroads Magazine.)
Fascination with Sherlock Holmes is pure ‘elementary’ I realize Sherlock Holmes’ aficionados may be offended, but I thoroughly enjoyed Hollywood’s adaptation of the famous 19th century detective as portrayed by Robert Downey Jr. His sidekick, Dr. Watson, played by Jude Law, is not hard to look at either. I find Downey’s characterization of Holmes, charming and clever and look forward to more of his swashbuckling adventures with Dr. Watson. Having said that, Benedict Cumberbach’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes is my favorite. I have been completely drawn into the world of BBC’s “Sherlock,” which also stars Martin Freeman. Both excellent actors, Cumberbach and Freeman have become hugely popular in recent years. Cumberbach plays “Kahn” in the most recent “Star Trek” production. He is also the voice of the dragon in “The Hobbit, Desolation of Smaug.” Freeman is the lead character, Bilbo Bag-
Carol Humphreys Columnist
gins, in “The Hobbit” movies and co-stars along with Billy Bob Thornton in the dark but well-done television
show “Fargo.” From the moment I set eyes on Benedict Cumberbach -- what a name! -- as Sherlock Holmes, I was mesmerized. I’ve always pictured the British sleuth as a middle-aged man wearing a tweed cap with a pipe hanging out of his mouth. Cumberbach’s Sherlock is a tall, lanky young man who hates wearing the tweed cap, wears nicotine patches and has piercing gray eyes. He wears a long black trench coat and is suitably Gothic in appearance. Though BBC’s adaptation is set in modern times, the show’s dark setting reminds me of Charles Dickens’ Victo-
rian London. As a teenager, I read about Holmes in “The Hounds of the Baskerville,” written in the early 20th century, either, because I was bored and found it in my mother’s extensive library; or because it was required reading in high school. All I remembered about the story was the huge ghostly and vicious black dogs (hounds) and that there was a lot of running around on the English moors. My other concept of Sherlock Holmes was from black and white movies made in the 1930s. I knew when Scotland Yard had a seemingly impossible crime to solve, they turned to Holmes. The consulting detective was known to be clever and extraordinary skilled at solving criminal cases. I also knew he was assisted by Dr. Watson (“Elementary, my dear Watson”) and for some reason that he was a cocaine addict. I didn’t know he was
known as a psychopath. Or as Cumberbach’s Sherlock would say in response to being called a psychopath, “I’m a highfunctioning sociopath. Do your research.” Dr. Watson discovers Holmes is indeed a brilliant, eccentric man. The detective leaps with joy and anticipation when a seemingly impossible criminal case is brought to him. He grins with delight as he tells Watson, “The game is on!” Sherlock will do anything, including taking it “to the edge” or risk being killed to stop from being bored. He has amazing deductive skills by employing his “mind palace.” This enviable skill is his ability to store facts in his long-term memory and then be able to call upon them as needed. In the show, you visually travel into Holmes’ mind palace as he puts all his facts in sequence to help solve cases. Freeman’s characterization of John Watson
is as fascinating to watch as Cumberbach’s Holmes. His facial expressions and body language in reaction to Sherlock’s lightningfast mind and astounding behavior are priceless. There is obvious chemistry between the two actors. However, though Watson is obviously the saner, more reasonable of the two, it turns out he needs the danger and excitement almost as much as Sherlock. An army doctor during Britain’s part in the current war in Afghanistan, Watson returns home with post traumatic syndrome. He feels empty and alone. Trying to “find himself” the doctor ends up as a roommate to the weirdly brilliant Holmes. He is immediately caught up in life and death situations as he becomes the detectives unlikely partner. In one episode, Sherlock’s brother Mycroft tells Watson, “When you walk with Sherlock, you see the battleground. You are not haunted by war
but (rather) miss it.” “Welcome, back,” He adds. Once hooked, I couldn’t get enough of BBC’s witty, intriguing “Sherlock.” Unfortunately, only three episodes are produced every two years. I had to wait six months for the 2014 season to come out on Netflix. There are also three seasons available on DVD. It was my daughter Anna who suggested I watch “Sherlock” as a counter option to Hollywood’s version of “Sherlock Holmes.” I liked Hollywood’s version, but I can hardly wait for more of the British version. My fascination with it is pure “elementary.” Plus I love saying, “Benedict Cumberbach,” almost as much as watching him. (Carol Humphreys was news clerk and columnist for the Daily Corinthian for 15 years. The Corinth resident is currently a freelance writer for the Daily Corinthian, Pickwick Profiles and Crossroads Magazine.)