Battle of Shiloh
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Major General Henry W. Halleck, sent Major Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell and their armies south to cut the Southern railroads lines in March 1862. Grant disembarking his Army of Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing and established a base of operations there with camps at a log church known as Shiloh Meeting House. Buell's Army of Ohio marched overland from Nashville to meet up with Grant and then both would advance on the strategic railroad junction at Corinth, Mississippi. General Johnston, in Corinth, planned a preemptive attack on Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing before Buell could join him. Johnston arrived below Pittsburg Landing late on 5 Apr 1862 and attacked Grant's camps at Shiloh Church at dawn the next day. Bitter fighting continued through the day and the Union lines fell back from Shiloh Church to the Peach Orchard, Water Oaks Pond, and to an impenetrable oak thicket known as the Hornets' Nest. At midday, the Confederate forces had become a bit confused and entangled and lost some momentum. While organizing an attack on the Union left, General Johnston was hit in the leg by a stray bullet and bled to death. General P.G.T. Beauregard took command of the Confederate army. Grant's forces withdrew to strong positions at Pittsburg Landing where they were protected by artillery and rugged terrain and held those positions until the fighting ended at nightfall. Overnight Buell's forces arrived and in the morning Grant attacked and forced Beauregard back to Shiloh Church. Beauregard then skillfully withdrew his outnumbered army back to Corinth and the battered Union army did not follow. The public was shocked at the casualty lists with 23,746 overall casualties out of the 109,784 men engaged.
Current Status    Part of Shiloh National Military Park, Hardin County, Tennessee. First-time visitors will want to begin at the visitor's center both for the displays and the 32-minute film (video) that gives you an overview of the history and the park. Following the film, the best plan for the first-timer is to embark on the 20-stop driving tour of the park that is in the park brochure. This tour can be done without stopping or you can stop at every interesting display, get out and read every sign and visit every battery and monument. Don't forget to explore because in many places there is more depth to the display than you might imagine for example the Ruggles 54 gun battery, which goes on for quite a distance. Bug spray is a necessity.
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Visited: 15 Sep 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
