Red Marker 7 - “Anything but peaceful”
Location: Turn around and follow the trail back west about 100 yards to Red Marker 7 [ Waypoint = N37 06.184 W93 24.703 ] on the left.
WCNB Description:
"Looking to the southeast from this bench, it is difficult to imagine this area as anything but peaceful. During the battle, however, the view was in many ways very much different. Yelling, screaming, flag-waving, Southern units filled the valley below, impatient for the opportunity to go into battle. Further south, 'thick black smoke' rose from Confederate supply wagons set afire by Union artillery batteries. And to your left, thousands of men were locked in a grim struggle. Describing the field of battle, one Iowa private wrote that 'the few trees were very large...and everything could be distinctly seen under them.' What men saw there left searing memories because everywhere, amidst the confusion and chaos, were the wounded, 'some places in heaps and rows.' While the howl of battle would soon end, their pitiful cries continued long into that summer evening."