During the battle of Shiloh, April 6-7, 1862 in western Tennessee the combined casualties exceeded 24,000 with almost 3,500 killed.

Reports of a strange phenomenon came from the battlefield of wounded men with a blue glow emanating from their wounds. The wounded who exhibited this phenomenon had a higher recovery and lower infection rate.

It became known as the Angels’ Glow and was attributed to divine providence and supernatural intercession. The fact that the phenomenon occurred on both sides did not play a significant part in the stories, but this obviously divine intervention by God did. God apparently wasn’t picking sides in this war, which is another topic for discussion,

This legend thrived for almost 140 years.

Then, in 2001, an enterprising high school student named Bill Martin toured the battlefield with his mother who happened to be a microbiologist. Martin and a friend set out to find an explanation.

They first identified bacteria that are bioluminescent then examined environmental conditions for any that could have been present in Shiloh in eighteen sixty-two. They focused on the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens which lives inside soil nematodes, microscopic worms.

The two have a symbiotic relationship. When the bacteria emits light, it attracts insects, allowing the worm to infect them. Once inside, the worm regurgitates the bacteria into the insects’ blood, killing the insect and other toxic microbes present. This may be what happened with Angel’s Glow. Soldiers’ wounds became contaminated with the nematodes. The worms likely released their toxins and enzymes, essentially cleaning the wound by killing pathogenic bacteria.
https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=angels%20glow%20battle%20of%20shiloh&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5

Now, this particular incident hasn’t had more extensive research done. And there are other bioluminescent bacteria candidates as possible explanations. But the story is illustrative of legends and stories of divine intervention, inexplicable at the time, that almost always turn out to be fully explainable by science.

And if they still defy explanation, that is more indicative of our limitations than proof of divine intervention. Occam’s Razor, seeking the most likely and simplest explanation, rather than leaping to the conclusion of divine providence, seems most appropriate. Perhaps, if someone thought it over at the time, they might have figured out what was causing it, even if they didn’t understand how, and saved more lives rather than offering prayers of thanks.

My grandfather used to tell me that thunder was the sound caused by Angels bowling. At five years old, this seemed a plausible explanation. I’m sure my grandfather knew better, and as I grew up and learned to think for myself, I came to see the reality.