Battle Of Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh began on April 6, 1862. Federal forces led by General Johnston were marching towards Corinth, Mississippi. Johnston wanted to attack general Grant’s army. He wanted to assault Grant’s army before it was reinforced by General Don Carlos Buell's Army. Johnston was on his march from Corinth with many inexperienced soldiers. General Grant’s army was set up at Shiloh, where they were drilling and resting. They were waiting for the reinforcements to arrive. General Johnston found the union camp and waited for the nighttime to plane a surprise attack. His plan worked, and no one on the union side was ready to fight. Johnston’s army pushed back the Union soldiers, but they began reorganizing farther away from the attack.

Johnston’s army was crushing the Grant’s, but finally, the union set up a stronghold in a sunken road. Grant told his army not to let go of the sunken road. The union held the road as bullets passed them. All the bullets sounded like a mad Hornet’s nest. The confederates attacked the “Hornets nest” eleven times. The Union still held strong. General Prentiss of the union army encouraged his soldiers to keep fighting, but then the Confederates came with sixty-two canons and lined them up against the road. The cannons did considerable amounts of damaged and the Union was forced to surrender. Not all the fighting was done in the road. Others fought in peach orchards nearby. General Johnston led an attack on the orchard, and after the union surrendered, he told his surgeon to go help union victims. The General was shot in the leg. It was not severe, but he had sent his surgeon out, and he did not have anyone to tend to his wounds. He could have been easily saved, but he bled to death.

There were dead