7 April 1862 A.D. PITTSBURGH LANDING, TN: Battle of Shiloh Ends
7 April 1862 A.D. PITTSBURGH LANDING, TN: Battle of Shiloh Ends.
Editors. “Battle of Shiloh concludes.” History.com. 2009. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-shiloh-concludes. Accessed 6
Apr 2015.
Two days of heavy fighting
conclude near Pittsburgh Landing in western Tennessee. The Battle of Shiloh
became a Union victory after the Confederate attack stalled on April 6, and
fresh Yankee troops drove the Confederates from the field on April 7.
Shiloh began when Union
General Ulysses S. Grant brought his army down the Tennessee River to
Pittsburgh Landing in an effort to move on Corinth, Mississippi, 20 miles to
the southwest. Union occupation of Corinth, a major rail center, would allow
the Yankees to control nearly all of western Tennessee. At Corinth, Confederate
General Albert Sidney Johnston did not wait for Grant to attack. He moved his
army toward Grant, striking on the morning of April 6. Throughout the day, the
Confederates drove the Yankees back but could not break the Union lines before
darkness halted the advance. Johnston was killed during the first day, so
General Pierre G. T. Beauregard assumed command of the Confederate force.
Now, Grant was joined by
the vanguard of Buell’s army. With an advantage in terms of troop numbers,
Grant counterattacked on April 7. The tired Confederates slowly retreated, but
they inflicted heavy casualties on the Yankees. By nightfall, the Union had
driven the Confederates back to Shiloh Church, recapturing grisly reminders of
the previous days’ battle such as the Hornets’ Nest, the Peach Orchard, and
Bloody Pond. The Confederates finally limped back to Corinth, thus giving a
major victory to Grant.
The cost of the victory
was high. Grant’s and Buell’s forces totaled about 62,000, of which 1,754 were
killed, 8,408 were wounded, and 2,885 were captured or missing for a total of
13,047 casualties. Of 45,000 Confederates engaged, 1,723 were killed, 8,012
wounded, and 959 missing for a total of 10,694 casualties. The 23,741
casualties were five times the number at the First Battle of Bull Run in July
1861, and they were more than all of the war’s major battles (Bull Run,
Wilson’s Creek, Fort Donelson, and Pea Ridge) to that date combined. It was a
sobering reminder to all in the Union and the Confederacy that the war would be
long and costly.
Warfare is a fascinating subject. Despite the dubious morality of using violence to achieve personal or political aims. It remains that conflict has been used to do just that throughout recorded history.
ReplyDeleteYour article is very well done, a good read.