His first battle after restoration to command was an unfortunate one in
the beginning, but was turned into a victory. He was advancing on
Corinth, Miss., a railroad centre of the Southwest, where a large
Confederate army under General Albert Sidney Johnston was collecting.
All the available Union forces in the West were gathering to meet it.
Grant had selected Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, twenty
miles from Corinth, as the place for landing his forces, and Hamburg
Landing, four miles up the river, as the starting point for Buell's
army in marching on Corinth. Buell was hastening to the rendezvous,
coming through Tennessee with a large force. On the 4th of April Grant's
horse fell while he was reconnoitring at night, and the general's leg
was badly bruised but not broken.
Expecting to make an offensive campaign and meet the enemy at Corinth,
he had not enjoined intrenchment of the temporary camp. So great was the
confidence that Johnston would await attack that the enemy's proximity
in force was discovered too late. Johnston led his whole army out of
Corinth, and early on the morning of the 6th of April surprised
Sherman's division encamped at Shiloh, three miles from Pittsburg
Landing, attacking with a largely superior force. The battle raged all
day, with heavy losses on both sides, the Union army being gradually
forced back to Pittsburg Landing. Five divisions were engaged, three of
them composed of raw troops, and many regiments were in a demoralized
condition at night.
On the next day the Union army, reinforced by Buell's 20,000 men,
advanced, attacking the enemy early in the morning, with furious
determination. The Confederate forces, although weakened, were
determined not to lose the advantage gained, and fought with desperate
stubbornness. But it was in vain. A necessity of vindicating their
courage was felt by officers and men of the Union Army. They had fully
recovered from the effects of the surprise, and pressed forward with
zealous assurance. Before the day was done Grant had won the field and
compelled a disorderly retreat. In this battle the commander of the
Confederate army, General Albert Sidney Johnston, was killed in the
first day's fighting, the command devolving on General G. T. Beauregard.
On the first day the Union forces on the field numbered about 33,000
against the enemy's above 40,000. On the second day the Union forces
were superior. The Union losses in the two days were 1754 killed, 8408
wounded, and 2885 missing; total 13,047. Beauregard reported a total
loss of 10,694, of whom 1723 were killed. General Grant says that the
Union army buried more of the enemy's dead than is here reported in
front of Sherman's and McClernand's divisions alone, and that the total
number buried was estimated at 4000.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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