Here’s a brief look back in time for this day, April 7. Note: some content in this article discusses the topic of mass genocide. Reader discretion is advised.
In 1862, the Battle of Shiloh ends with a Union victory. Taking place in Hardin County, TN, the Union sought to seize control of a nearby town called Corinth, which contained two intersecting railroads that can increase supply shipments and troop deployments before converging deeper into Confederate territory. The battle received its name from a log church featured prominently on the field; the term “Shiloh” is a Hebrew term meaning “tranquil”, or a “place of peace”. While the Union was victorious, then-Major General of the Union Ulysses S. Grant received backlash based on the amount of casualties that were sustained. The Union suffered around 13,000, while the Confederacy had 10,700: a 2,300 difference. Some of the blame was placed on one of Grant’s generals who accidentally led his regiment to the wrong portion of the battlefield, which delayed a crucial counteroffensive. That general was none other than Lew Wallace, who for decades afterward defended his leadership that day, while most continued to bash him for it.
In 1994, the Rwandan Genocide begins one day after the assassination of the country’s president Theoneste Bagosora. According to Rwandan legislature, its prime minister is next to lead the country in case of an event like this. However, after being refused by a crisis committee to lead the country, she was murdered alongside her husband in Radio Rwanda after soldiers and civilians overpowered her personal guard. The country’s military leadership was in shambles, transitioning from one army chief of staff to the next until Augustin Bizimungu was chosen. Bizimungu played a key role in the killing of thousands of innocent Tutsi civilians and some Hutu political leaders. Hutu extremists had control of the government during this power vacuum, ordering soldiers, police, and civilians alike to identify and murder any Tutsi men, women and children. After the Rwandan Patriotic Front helped end the genocide by taking control of the government, an upwards of 100 officials were convicted of war crimes.