Here is the log book of U.S.S. Lexington for April 6, 1862, the first day of the Battle of Shiloh. It helps to answer some questions about what happened that day, but raises others. The name of the transport, John Raine, is almost assuredly transcribed incorrectly as John Ramm in the Official Records. Whether the boat actually was John Warner is another question altogether. [All images are from the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.]
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Always good to see the REAL record — even if it’s a facsimile. And the Navy kept more accurate time than the Army.
I completely agree, especially about the time. In the army, the times seem all over the place, but I would trust the navy’s log book times to within 15 minutes. I was also perusing some other log books that help confirm U.S. Grant’s drinking binge on the Yazoo River.
And I just found out that, ten years ago, the log book for the U.S.S. Tyler was auctioned off. It supposedly had entries from 1861 to “April 1862.” That would, I hope, include Shiloh. It would be great if someone made it public.