Battle of Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield is located between a small, undistinguished church named Shiloh and Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Two Union armies combined to defeat the Confederate Army of Mississippi. Major General Ulysses S. Grant was the Union commander, while General Albert Sidney Johnston was the Confederate commander until his battlefield death, when he was replaced by his second-in-command, General P. G. T. Beauregard.

The Confederate army hoped to defeat Grant's Army of the Tennessee before it could be reinforced and resupplied. Although it made considerable gains with a surprise attack on the first day of the battle, Johnston was mortally wounded and Grant's army was not eliminated. Overnight, Grant's Army of the Tennessee was reinforced by one of its divisions stationed farther north, and was also joined by portions of the Army of the Ohio, under the command of Major General Don Carlos Buell. The Union forces conducted an unexpected counterattack in the morning, which reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day. The exhausted Confederate army withdrew further south, and a modest Union pursuit started and ended on the next day.

Though victorious, the Union army had around 2,500 more casualties than the Confederates. After the surprise and lengthy Union casualty list became known, Grant was heavily criticized; in fact, decisions made by both the Federal and Confederate high command were afterward questioned by individuals on and off the battlefield. The battle was the costliest engagement of the Civil War up to that point, and its nearly 24,000 casualties made it one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war.

Background and plans

thumb|upright=1.5|right|Defeats in February 1862 caused Confederate forces to consolidate in Corinth, Mississippi|alt=map of Tennessee and surrounding states showing Confederate forces moving to Corinth, Mississippi near the Tennessee border

During February 1862, a Union army led by Ulysses S. Grant won two battles that were the most significant Union victories, at that time, of the American Civil War. The battles were the Battle of Fort Henry and the Battle of Fort Donelson, and they occurred in Tennessee on the Tennessee River and the Cumberland River, respectively. Those rivers were vital to the Confederacy as transportation routes, and also connected the city of Nashville, an ironworks, and major agricultural areas. Nashville was a converging point for railroads, a major producer of gunpowder, and a major supply depot. The Union army increased its firepower in those battles by receiving assistance from U.S. Navy gunboats. The steam-powered gunboats were flat-bottomed, armored, and carried up to 13 artillery pieces.

Continuing their push into Confederate territory, Union troops arrived at the Tennessee River town of Savannah, Tennessee, on March 11. By mid-March, a large number of Union troops were camped there and at landings further south, and additional Union troops under the command of Don Carlos Buell were moving from Nashville to join the force on the river. Union leadership realized that its troops were too spread out, so it was decided to concentrate troops at Pittsburg Landing. Pittsburg Landing is upriver (south) of Savannah, and it had a road that led to Corinth, Mississippi. About inland from the landing was a log church named Shiloh (a Hebrew word meaning "place of peace"), and it is from this church that the battle gets its name. The battle has also been called the Battle of Pittsburg Landing. The area that would become the Shiloh battlefield was somewhat shaped like a triangle, with the sides formed by various creeks and the Tennessee River. The land was mostly wooded, with scattered cotton fields, peach orchards, and a few small structures.

The Confederate Army's February 6 loss at Fort Henry caused it to abandon Kentucky and parts of Tennessee. The last Confederate troops in Nashville moved south on February 23. General Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate commander of the Western Theater, made the controversial decision to abandon the region. Although Confederate politicians were unhappy with Johnston's performance and the abandonment, the consolidation of troops further south was a wise choice, because the Union forces on the Tennessee River could cut off Confederate retreats from posts in Kentucky and major portions of Tennessee. Confederate leadership decided to consolidate forces in Corinth, Mississippi, which is just south of the Tennessee–Mississippi border. The town of Corinth had strategic value because it was at the intersection of two railroads, including one that was part of the rail network used to move Confederate supplies and troops between Tennessee and Virginia. By the end of March, over 40,000 Confederate troops were concentrated at Corinth. If the combined armies could move south and capture Corinth, they would have a good starting point for the capture of Memphis, Vicksburg, and large portions of Confederate territory.|group=Note On April 4, Confederate cavalry was seen by a Union patrol near Shiloh, but Union leadership was not concerned.

Confederate leaders realized they could soon be outnumbered. They had 42,000 men at Corinth, and 15,000 more on the way, while the not–yet–combined Union force could be as large as 75,000 men.|group=Note Instead of waiting to be attacked by a larger force, they decided to surprise the Union Army on April 4 before the second Union Army arrived from Nashville. Inexperience and bad weather caused their 20-mile (32km) march north to be "a nightmare of confusion and delays", and the Confederate Army was not deployed into position until the afternoon of April 5. The army spent the night of April 5 on the south side of the Union campsites. The plan was to attack the Union left, pushing it northwest against the swampy land adjacent to Snake and Owl creeks. Confederate troops along the Tennessee River would prevent Union reinforcements and resupply. Although Halleck hoped to lead the two armies in an eventual attack on Corinth, he was not present at Shiloh. They had 119 artillery pieces available for the battle. The majority of the Union soldiers were armed with either a .69 caliber model 1841 rifled musket or a .69 caliber model 1842 smoothbore musket, although a few regiments had more modern weapons such as the .58 caliber Springfield Model 1855. The armies and their divisions were organized as follows:

Army of the Tennessee

The Army of the Tennessee had the most Union men present at the battle, and it was commanded by Major General Ulysses S. Grant. In February 1862, a smaller version of Grant's army, with the assistance of gunboats under the command of Flag-Officer Andrew H. Foote, had been the victor in the Battle of Fort Henry and the Battle of Fort Donelson. Grant was removed from command on March 4 and replaced by Major General Charles F. Smith, less than three weeks after achieving the greatest Union victory (at that time) of the war. After President Abraham Lincoln indirectly requested backup for the accusations against Grant, and Halleck received a promotion on March 11, Halleck stated that Grant had never been insubordinate and restored him to command. Grant arrived in Savannah on March 17 to reassume command.|group=Note For the Battle of Shiloh, Grant's army had 48,894 men in six divisions. A 6th Division was created from reinforcement units at the beginning of April. The divisions (and gunboats) were as follows:

1st Division was commanded by Major General John Alexander McClernand. This division consisted of veteran fighters.
2nd Division was commanded by Brigadier General William H. L. Wallace. Colonel James M. Tuttle, one of the brigade commanders, would eventually lead this division.
3rd Division was commanded by Major General Lew Wallace.
4th Division was commanded by Brigadier General Stephen A. Hurlbut. This division had little combat experience. However, when the attack at Shiloh began, Sherman was the only Union division commander on the battlefield who had been trained at the United States Military Academy (a.k.a. West Point). The USS Tyler was commanded by Lieutenant William Gwin. The USS Lexington was commanded by Lieutenant James W. Shirk.

Army of the Ohio

The other Union army at the Battle of Shiloh was the Army of the Ohio, which was commanded by Major General Don Carlos Buell. Another division, plus part of a second one, did not arrive in time to participate in the battle. The number of men present at the battle totaled to 17,918. The divisions in the battle were:

2nd Division was commanded by Brigadier General Alexander McDowell McCook.
5th Division was commanded by Brigadier General Thomas L. Crittenden.

Confederate

thumb|upright=0.5|right|[[Albert Sidney Johnston|alt=Confederate Civil War general with mustache and hair covering his ears]]

The Confederate army at the Battle of Shiloh was the Army of Mississippi, commanded by General Albert Sidney Johnston, with General Pierre G. T. Beauregard as Johnston's second in command.

Second Corps was commanded by Major General Braxton Bragg, and consisted of two divisions. Although lacking experience in combat, Bragg's troops were the best drilled and disciplined Confederate troops at the battle.
Third Corps was commanded by Major General William J. Hardee, and consisted of three brigades.
An unassigned infantry force was the 47th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, which arrived at the battle on April 7. Bragg's Second Corps was the largest of four corps, although it was smaller than the normal size. One of the reasons for the four small corps (instead of fewer corps that were larger) was size deception, as a typical corps had about 20,000 men. Small arms included flintlocks, shotguns, squirrel rifles, and percussion muskets. A few thousand of the highly accurate Enfield rifles had been distributed to Johnston's men before the battle; In between Sherman and Stuart was Prentiss's division, and between the Shiloh Church area and the Tennessee River were the divisions of McClernand and Hurlbut. To the north and closest to Pittsburg Landing was W.H.L. Wallace's division. Lew Wallace's division was at Crump's Landing, downstream (north) of the Union campsites. Grant was further north at his headquarters in Savannah. Nelson's division from Buell's army had reached Savannah, but Buell's other divisions were still marching.

The Shiloh camps did not form a defensive line, and no entrenchments were made because nobody expected a fight at that location. After hearing reports concerning sightings of Confederate soldiers in the Shiloh area, Colonel Everett Peabody, commander of the First Brigade from Prentiss's division, became concerned. Around midnight on April 5, Peabody ordered Major James E. Powell to take three companies of the 25th Missouri Infantry Regiment, and two companies of the 12th Michigan Infantry Regiment, on a reconnaissance (a.k.a. scout) to Seay Field where the sighting had been made. Prentiss was not informed, and Powell's men advanced from their camp southwest down a farm road that led to the Pittsburg-Corinth Road.

Fighting starts at Fraley Field

thumb|upright=1.5|Powell found the Confederate Army near Fraley Field|alt=Map showing Union patrol finding large Confederate force at Fraley Field

The Confederate Third Brigade of Hardee's Third Corps was southwest of Powell's patrol. The brigade was commanded by Brigadier General S. A. M. Wood, and he had sent forward 280 skirmishers from Major Aaron B. Hardcastle's Third Mississippi Battalion. Hardcastle kept most of his men in the southeast corner of James J. Fraley's 40-acre (16 ha) cotton field, while two sets of pickets were positioned closer to the Union camps. The battle began with these two small forces fighting for over an hour.

Around 5:30am, Confederate leaders heard the commotion at Fraley Field, and Johnston ordered a general attack. On the Union side, Powell sent a message to Colonel Peabody that he was being driven back by an enemy force of several thousand. Hearing the fighting, Prentiss soon learned that Peabody had sent out a patrol without authorization. Prentiss was outraged and accused Peabody of provoking a major engagement in violation of Grant's orders. However, he soon understood that he was facing a large Confederate force and sent reinforcements. Peabody's patrol, with Powell leading, partially ruined the planned Confederate surprise and gave thousands of Union soldiers time (although brief) to prepare for battle. Although Peabody's patrol had alerted the Union army, some Union leaders were not convinced that they were under attack. Sherman was not convinced until he was slightly wounded, and one of his orderlies shot dead, after a 7:00am ride to investigate the commotion near Rea Field.

After Johnston's 5:30 order for a general attack, it took an hour before all Confederate troops were ready. Another hour was lost skirmishing at Seay Field (close to Fraley Field). This reduced the Confederate advantage from the unexpected attack. The Confederate army alignment was another issue that helped reduce the attack's effectiveness. The corps of Hardee and Bragg began the assault with their divisions in one line that was nearly wide. At about 7:30am Beauregard ordered the corps of Polk and Breckinridge forward on the left and right of the line, which only extended the line and diluted the effectiveness of the two attacking corps. Johnston and Beauregard did not put more strength on the east side, which meant they did not focus on their objective of turning the Union left.

Sherman and Prentiss

thumb|upright=1.5|The divisions of Sherman and Prentiss were the first Union troops attacked|alt=Map showing Fraley Field, Shiloh Church, Crossroads, and troop positions

Sherman and Prentiss were the commanders of the first two Union divisions attacked, and those happened to be the most inexperienced of Grant's six divisions.