Battle of Shiloh - Day 1

At 6:00 am Albert Sydney Johnston's army was deployed to attack Grant at Pittsburg Landing, near the small country church of Shiloh, from which the battle would take its name. P. G. T. Beauregard was for retreating back to Corinth, Mississippi since he was certain that Grant had been alerted of their presence. He rode over to Johnston's headquarters to attempt to chance his mind. But as they were talking, they heard the sound of musketry from the front lines. Johnston, rising to mount his horse, said, "The battle has opened, gentlemen. It is too late to change our dispositions. Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River."

Surprisingly, Beauregard was wrong. The Confederate attack had achieved almost complete surprise. One Colonel reported to Sherman that there were troops in his front. Sherman however disregarded the report, "Beauregard is not such a fool as to leave his base of operations and attack us in ours. There is no enemy nearer than Corinth." However, now, this morning, Sherman's lines were being over run. With rebel yells, the Southerners achieved complete surprise, throwing back the Federals. However, the Northerners were veterans. The men of Sherman, Prentiss and McClernand formed along a ridge and opened a destructive fire on the advancing rebels. Beauregard established his headquarters at the Shiloh church, the Hebrew name for peace. From here Beauregard managed the battle from the rear, while Johnston rode along the front lines, encouraging the men. The Confederate assault soon stalled. The men scattered through the Federal camps, eating the hot breakfasts that the Federals were in the act of eating when they were driven off. The confusion of battle had displaced the corps lines which looked neat on paper.

On the far right of the Confederate line they encountered strong Union resistance around a 10 acre peace orchard. A heavy line of blue infantry beat back several Confederate brigades. Johnston arrived on the scene, and seeing the situation, said, "Men! they are stubborn; we must use the bayonet. I will lead you!" Standing up in his stirrups he led another attack forward against the line. Rushing behind him, the Confederate troops crushed through the Union defenses.

Johnston

Riding out of the newly captured orchard, Johnston was elated at his victory. His coat was cut with bullets and a boot sole was cut in half, but he appeared unharmed. However, suddenly he began reeling in his saddle. The only staff officer with him was Governor Isham Harris of Tennessee, who had volunteered as an aide during for the battle. The governor asked if the general was hurt, and Johnston replied, "Yes, and I fear seriously." Laying him down on the ground, Harris soon found his wound. An bullet had cut an artery in his leg, and his boot was filled with blood. Harris did not know how to make a tourniquet, so he had to find a doctor. However, before the doctor could arrive, Johnston had bled to death. He died around 2:30 pm.

The fighting continued all along the Confederate line. In the center it was focused on a position called the Hornet's Nest, an open field bordered by a fence and a Sunken Road. From that road the Federals beat back wave after wave of gray attackers. However, with the capture of the Peach Orchard, there was a lull in the fighting as the Confederate shuffled their forces. The were able to get around the flank of the soldiers in the road, and 62 cannon were brought up to pour canister into the Yankee lines. When these guns opened, the Federal troops bent back in the face of the hard pressure. Wallace and Hurlbut's divisions broke towards the rear, only Prentiss's men remain firm. Surrounded on all sides, Prentiss continued to hold out. Finally at 5:30, after two hours of fierce fighting, Prentiss realized that further fighting was useless and surrendered his men, half of whom had been lost in the fighting. Although he had lost his command, Prentiss may have saved Grant.

Benjamin Prentiss

Beauregard and his army had done well today. Although they had lost their commander and many other brave soldiers, they had surprised Grant and driven his lines back, capturing dozens of cannon and his entire division. Beauregard decided to delay the attacks until the next morning. However, not everyone agreed with him. There was the danger that Buell's army might arrive during the night, giving Grant fresh troops to use the next day. Nathan Bedford Forrest had seen Buell's men arriving during the next at Pittsburg Landing. While the soldiers were trying to sleep in the falling rain, Forrest searched for Beauregard, urging every general he could find to launch a night attack before the new troops could be positioned. However, he never found Beauregard no one else would do it, so he gave up, convinced that the Confederates would be whipped the next morning.

The Armies Move to Shiloh

After Grant captured Forts Henry and Donelson, the Confederate position in the west quickly crumbled. Albert Sydney Johnston, the Confederate commander, found his thin line falling apart. His men were panicked, so he abandoned Nashville and headed south. Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard collected the disorganized remnants of his forces at Corinth, Mississippi. The government in Richmond gave him every man they could spare, stripping men from the coastal defenses. Johnston's army grew to the size of 55,000, the largest army assembled by the South to that point in time. On the Northern side, Henry Halleck was rewarded for Grant's victories and Buell's Army of the Ohio was placed under his command. He ordered Buell to join Grant's Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg landing, so that Grant would not be outnumbered by the large force Johnston was building. Grant had 43,000 men in six divisions, but he would soon be joined by Buell's 30,000.

A. S. Johnston

Johnston intended to strike before Buell arrived. Although he had the greater numbers, Grant's men were veterans while many of Johnston's had never fired a shot. He hoped to overcome this with a surprise attack. Grant was surrounded by marshes with a river to his back, and Johnston and Beauregard hoped to overpower him before he could make a resistance. The Confederates set out on the morning of April 3rd, at the insistence of Beauregard and Braxton Bragg, a Corp commander and Chief of Staff. However, the march was much slower than expected. They only marched 9 of the 20 miles which had been planned. They were not in position to attack until the evening of April 5th, 150 years ago today. Beauregard was for retiring, as he thought they had lost the element of surprise since the troops had been within earshot of the Federals for hours, practicing their shooting and rebel yells. However, Johnston, Polk and Bragg thought that the troops would be demoralized by retreating at that moment, so it was decided to continue with the attack the next morning. Johnston had issued this general order to his army:

"Soldiers of the Army of the Mississippi: I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country. With the resolution and disciplined valor becoming men fighting, as you are, for all worth living or dying for, you can but march to a decisive victory over the agrarian mercenaries sent to despoil you of your liberties, property and honor. Remember the precious stake involved, remember the dependence of your mothers, your wives, your sisters and your children on the result; remember the land; broad and abounding and the happy homes and the eyes that would be desolated by your defeat. The eyes and hopes of eight millions of people rest upon you; you are expected to show yourselves worthy of your race and lineage --- worthy of the women of the South, whose noble devotion in this war has never been exceeded in any time. With such incentives to brave deeds, and with the trust that God is with us, your general will lead you confidently to the combat --- assured of success. A. S. Johnston."

Braxton Bragg