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Standing to It: Everett Peabody, Part I - Page 2

© Perry Cuskey

Few are aware that this unpretentious spot represents some of the most important events in one of most important battles of the American Civil War. A tantalizing clue can be found on the whitewashed monument; a single word painted near the base in large, black letters: "Peabody."

It is a spot that marks the end of a life, and the beginning of a long overlooked story.

"Probably no man of our armies in our entire history has rendered his country at one time more valuable service, and yet outside the few survivors of his regiment, his name is hardly known and is unhonored and unsung." So wrote former Missouri private Charles Morton of his one-time commander, Colonel Everett Peabody, long after the battle of Shiloh had faded into history.

Morton's frustration is understandable. Killed in the opening phase of the battle, Peabody receives scant notice for his role at Shiloh. Yet his actions before the battle ever began quite possibly helped save the Union army camped around Pittsburg Landing from what otherwise may have been certain defeat.

By My Own Right Arm

Everett Peabody was born in Springfield Massachusetts on June 13th, 1830, to William and Eliza Peabody. His parents had moved to Springfield ten years before, and would eventually raise five children - one daughter and four sons - of whom Everett was the oldest. (A sixth child had died as an infant.)

Everett's father served the local community as a reverend. According to a brief 1867 biography of Everett, both Reverend Peabody and his wife, Eliza, were well respected in the Springfield community. "He was well known as a preacher, essayist, naturalist, and poet," it was written of William Peabody, "and was universally respected for the pure and elevated character of his daily life." Eliza Peabody was remembered as "lovely in person and manners, full of energy and public spirit, and taking a leading part in all schemes for doing good."

Described as a "tall, athletic boy" who was "fond of out-door sports" and "quick to learn," young Everett would inherit his father's love for poetry and both parents' sense of responsibility and love of life. By the tender of age of 15 he was attending college in Vermont, only to switch to Harvard the following year.

His initial high standing at the prestigious university apparently did not stand in the way of enjoying himself. "His wit and love of fun made him a favorite companion at social entertainments," remembered a former classmate. On one occasion though, a bit too much fun earned the young Peabody a brief suspension for an undisclosed infraction. But by 1849 he had graduated with a degree in engineering, and quickly found employment in his chosen field, first in Massachusetts and soon thereafter in far-off Ohio.

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