Shiloh

Shiloh Shiloh National Military Park Tennessee / Mississippi National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Shiloh Corinth The ground was strewn with the dead of the enemy and our own, mangled in every conceivable way. Capt. Samuel Latta, 13th Tennessee Infantry, CSA Our lines melted under their fire like snow in thaw. Edward H. Cummins, captain and acting inspector-general, CSA DETAIL—DECISION AT THE CROSSROADS BY KEITH ROCCO DETAIL—THE BLOODY SIXTH BY RICK REEVES © RICK REEVES Highlights of the Civil War in the Western Theater, 1861–64 Lincoln elected, South secedes; Fort Sumter bombarded; war begins November 1860–April 1861 Confederacy controls the railroad junction at Corinth, MS February 1861 Union forces capture Forts Henry and Donelson, and Nashville, TN February 1862 G en. Ulysses S. Grant’s capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in February 1862 forced Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, Confederate commander in the area, to abandon Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. To prevent a Federal advance into the Mississippi Valley, Johnston concentrated his forces at the strategic railroad hub at Corinth, Mississippi. In mid-March, Grant steamed up the Tennessee River, disembarking at Pittsburg Landing, 22 miles northeast of Corinth. Ordered to wait for Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio, marching overland from Nashville, Grant prepared to advance on Corinth. Johnston, however, seized the initiative, and led about 44,000 soldiers against Grant. At dawn on April 6, a Federal patrol discovered the Confederates. Desperate fighting engulfed the Federal camps in the forest and fields around a small log church called Shiloh Meeting House. Grant’s 40,000 troops stubbornly contested the onslaught, and an unparalleled slaughter resulted. Johnston bled to death from a leg wound, and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard assumed Confederate command. Grant’s divisions, pressed back nearly two miles, still held the important river landing, where Buell’s force arrived at nightfall. Reinforced overnight with thousands of fresh troops, Grant counterattacked in the morning. Union forces occupy Pittsburg Landing, TN March 1862 Battle of Shiloh / Pittsburg Landing, TN April 1862 Siege and capture of Corinth, MS April–May 1862 Battle of Corinth, MS, and engagement at Davis Bridge October 1862 Engagement at Iuka, MS September 1862 Grant’s first attempt to capture Vicksburg, MS, fails October–December 1862 Contraband Camp set up Emancipation at Corinth, MS Proclamation November 1862 January 1863 April 7, 1862 Halleck plans to capture strategic crossroads at Corinth. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee travels upriver to Pittsburg Landing, March through April. The first battle begins when Johnston attacks at 4:55 A M. The Confederates advance to the Union’s position to the northeast and fight between 7 and 10 A M. The Confederates advance further toward Grant and fight between 12 and 2 P M. Between 4 and 6 P M, they are up against Grant’s last line at Pittsburg Landing. The first day of battle ends at 6 P M. By the end of the day Grant’s forces were pushed back to their base at Pittsburg Landing, where they were protected by gunboats and artillery. Buell’s army of the Ohio arrives on April 6 and 7 at Pittsburg Landing. Grant counterattacks at 5 A M. The Union advances toward the Confederates’ position to the southwest. They fight from 8 until 11 A M. The Union advances further between 12 and 2 P M farther southwest. The second day of battle ends at 6 P M, when Beauregard withdraws to Corinth. Buell’s Army of the Ohio arrives from Nashville on April 6 and 7. From April 3 to 5, Johnston advance northeast toward Grant’s camp. Johnston attacks on April 6. The Union advances from the northeast, to Savannah, then to Pittsburg Landing. Corinth, where the Confederate fortifications are located, is at the intersection of the Mobile & Ohio Railroad and the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. CONFEDERATE LEADERSHIP The arrival of Buell’s army allowed Grant to counterattack and sweep the Confederates from the field, saving the Federal army from defeat. UNION LEADERSHIP For six hours, outnumbered Confederates fiercely resisted until they could hold no longer. To save the army, Beauregard ordered a retreat to Corinth. The battered Federals did not pursue. Shiloh’s 23,746 casualties forecasted an increasingly bloody and protracted war, leaving in doubt the question of who would control Corinth’s railroad junction. Albert Sidney Johnston P.G.T. Beauregard NATIONAL ARCHIVES Sterling Price Earl Van Dorn NATIONAL ARCHIVES Scenes of War Ulysses S. Grant Henry W. Halleck US forces abandon Corinth, MS January 1864 H BATTLE OF SHILOH April 6, 1862 Campaign, siege, and surrender of Vicksburg, MS January–July 1863 Don Carlos Buell William Rosecrans ALL—LIBRARY OF CONGRESS enry Wager Halleck, commander of Federal forces in the Western Theater, considered Corinth’s capture to be very important. On April 29, leading over 100,000 troops, he cautiously advanced southwest from Pittsburg Landing. By late May, his soldiers were entrenched within cannon range of Confederate fortifications defending the strategic crossroads. Despite being reinforced by Gen. Earl Van Dorn’s Army of the West, Confederate Gen. Beauregard withdrew south to Tupelo, Mississippi, abandoning the most viable line of east-west rail communications in the western Confederacy. In late summer 1862, Confederate leaders launched counteroffensives in every theater. Out west, armies led by Gens. Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith invaded Kentucky, while Van Dorn boldly attacked the heavily fortified Federal garrison at Corinth, commanded by Gen. William Rosecrans. Some of the heaviest fighting took place in and around US-held Battery Robinett. Though Confederate troops managed to fight their way into town, Van Dorn was decisively repulsed. His retreating army engaged a Federal force at Davis Bridge on October 5 but managed to evade complete destruction. These three days of carnage from October 3 through 5 resulted in 3,100 Federal and 4,838 Confederate casualties. Van Dorn’s defeat and Bragg’s retreat from Kentucky after the Battle of Perryville (October 8) caused discouragement in the Confederate capital Richmond and great relief in the US capital Washington. The last Confederate offensive in Mississippi, Van Dorn’s defeat at Corinth weakened the only mobile Southern army defending the Mississippi Valley. Grant was now free to launch a relentless nine-month campaign to capture Vicksburg and regain control of the Mississippi River. US ARMY MILITARY HISTORY INSTITUTE ALL IMAGES—NPS UNLESS OTHERWISE CREDITED US ARMY MILITARY HISTORY INSTITUTE These 24-pounder siege guns helped defend Grant’s last line (April 6, 1862) until Buell’s Army of the Ohio arrived. Above: Shiloh Church, drawn by an officer who took part in the battle. Left: US and Confederate flags. Left: Transports at Pittsburg Landing, shortly after the battle. The second boat from the right is Tigress, Grant’s floating headquarters. Above: Looking northwest from Corinth along the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Battery Robinett is in the distance to the right. Above left: Soldiers on both sides sent letters home in patriotic envelopes like these after the battles of Shiloh and Corinth. Above right: The Confederate dead at Battery Robinett, after the Battle of Corinth. Touring Shiloh Battlefield Begin at the visitor center, open daily ex­cept Thanksgiving, Decem­ber 25, and January 1. Take in the ex­hib­its and a 48-minute film. Use these maps and the official NPS App to guide your visit. More Information Shiloh National Military Park 1055 Pittsburg Landing Rd. Shiloh, TN 38376-9704 731-689-5275 www.nps.gov/shil 1 Grant’s Last Line The artillery along this ridge marks the final position of Grant’s line on April 6. From here, the Federals launched a counterattack on April 7. 2 Confederate Monument Here, Confederate troops encircled and captured nearly 2,100 Federal defenders of the Hornets’ Nest. 3 Duncan Field Federal troops defended this position for seven hours on April 6 before giving ground. They retook it on April 7. 4 Ruggles’ Battery When infantry attacks on the Hornets’ Nest failed, Confederates bombarded it with 11 artillery batteries. 5 Shiloh Church The site of the church for which the battle was named. 6 Rhea Field Exposed to converging fire from 11 Shiloh’s Casualties One of five known mass graves where many of the 1,728 Confederate dead were buried. Shiloh veterans considered the graves important aspects of battle history. 12 Jones Field Federal forces rallied here at noon on April 6, mounting a counterattack that briefly checked the Confederate offensive. The next day, fresh US troops drove Confederates from the field. 13 Woolf Field At noon on April 6, Grant’s right wing counterattacked southward one-half mile from Jones Field to this area. Severe fighting raged along this front until the depleted Federal ranks retired from fighting at 2 pm. 14 Water Oaks Pond The desperate assaults Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard hurled through this pond on April 7 failed to halt Grant’s counteroffensive. With chances for victory gone, Beauregard withdrew his army to Corinth. leads to Fraley Field, where fighting began at 4:55 am on April 6 when Confederate pickets engaged a patrol from Col. Everett Peabody’s brigade. Shiloh National Military Park is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. Learn more at www.nps.gov. Safety Motorists, hikers, and bikers share park roads; be alert and cautious. • Do not climb on cannons, monuments, or fences. Climbing damages them and is dangerous for you. • Be careful near the river bank. • For firearms regulations check the park website. 9 Invasion of the Union Camps Prentiss’s soldiers briefly defended their camps before retreating north at 9 am. Johnston’s offensive stalled when his soldiers stopped to plunder supplies. 10 Hornets’ Nest Parts of three US divisions stubbornly defended this densely wooded area on April 6, so named by the attacking Confederates because of the stinging shot and shell they faced here. Large rectangular tablets give historical information about the armies and units engaged. Emergencies call 911 • Confederate Army of the Mississippi (purple) • Federal Army of the Tennessee (blue) • Federal Army of the Ohio (gold) Accessibility We strive to make facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to a visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check the park website. 12. Travel west along Jones Field Road to Jones Field. this area on April 6 during assaults against the Hornets’ Nest. They stubbornly defended it on April 7 until US troops drove them southward, after seizing all ground lost the previous day. 1. Start at Grant’s Last Line, which is located in the northeastern part of the park on Pittsburg Landing Road near the visitor center. 2. Travel southwest on Corinth-Pittsburg Landing Road to the Confederate Monument. 13. Travel southwest on Corinth Road to Woolf Field. 14. Travel south to Water Oaks Pond. 4. Travel west to 3. Travel west to Ruggles’ Battery. Duncan field. 10. Travel southeast then northeast to Eastern Corinth Road to Hornets’ Nest. 5. Travel southwest to Shiloh Church. 19. Travel north to Bloody Pond. 18 The Peach Orchard Sarah Bell’s orchard was in full bloom when Confederates attacked US forces here on April 6. The Federals eventually retreated to Pittsburg Landing but retook the field the next day. 15. Travel south east on Hamburg-Purdy Road to Daniel Davis Wheatfield. 9. Travel northeast to the Invasion of the Union Camps on Peabody Road. 20 Dill Branch Ravine To support Grant’s defense 21 Grant’s Left Flank Here, US artillery hammered the Confederate infantry flank as it charged across the rugged Dill Branch ravine. 22 Pittsburg Landing Buell’s Army of the Ohio arrived here on the night of April 6–7 to reinforce Grant. 18. Travel north to The Peach Orchard. 6. Travel south on Corinth Road to Rhea Field. which surrounds a vernal pool, witnessed heavy fighting. Confederate forces seized it on April 6. Buell’s forces retook it the next day. of Pittsburg Landing, US gunboats Lexington and Tyler anchored opposite of the mouth of the Dill Branch. 21. Travel north to Grant’s Left Flank. 11. Travel north and onto Corinth-Pittsburg Landing Road to Shiloh’s Casualties. 16 Field Hospital Here, in one of the first tent hospitals on a Civil War battlefield, Federal surgeons improved patient care and lowered the death rate. 22. Travel north to Pittsburg Landing. 20. Travel east on Browns Landing Road to Dill Branch Ravine. 8 Confederates Gain Ground Early on April 6, 19 Bloody Pond This sector of the battlefield, Prentiss’s men along the low ridge in front of you tried to halt the Confederates, who soon forced them back to their camps. Read each tablet facing the same direction as the troops mentioned at that point in the battle. Troop position markers are coded by shape and color. 15 Daniel Davis Wheatfield Confederates seized the Federals defending Shiloh Church, the 17 Death of General Johnston Struck by a bullet, Confederate units here suffered huge losses Confederate Gen. Johnston died in the ravine on April 6. The 6th Mississippi Infantry had south of this monument. P.G.T. Beauregard 70-percent casualties. succeeded him to command the army. 7 Fraley Field The short trail to the west Key to Troop Position Tablets on the Battlefield 7. Travel south on Corinth Road to Fraley Field. 8. Travel east on Reconnoitering Road to where the Confederates gained ground. 17. Travel northwest on Hamburg-Savannah Road to the location 16. Travel east to of the death of Field Hospital. General Johnston. Small rectangular tablets mark troop positions on the first day of battle, April 6. • Confederate Army of the Mississippi (purple) • Federal Army of the Tennessee (blue) • Federal Army of the Ohio (gold) Oval tablets mark troop positions on the second day of battle, April 7. • Confederate Army of the Mississippi (purple) • Federal Army of the Tennessee (blue) • Federal Army of the Ohio (gold) “If defeated here we lose the Mississippi Valley, and probably our cause.” After the Battle of Shiloh, Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard cabled the prediction above to his superiors in Richmond, Virginia. A month later, with US forces moving to besiege Corinth’s critical railroad junction, Federal Gen. Henry W. Halleck shared like sentiments with US Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton: “Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards.” Two of the most important railroads in the Confederacy passed through Corinth. The Memphis & Charleston linked the Mississippi River to the Atlantic seaboard via Chattanooga. This line was so vital to the Southern war effort Confederate Secretary of War Leroy Pope Walker called it the “vertebrae of the Confederacy.” The north-south Mobile & Ohio line connected Columbus, Kentucky, with Mobile, Alabama. Their intersection made Corinth the most strategic transportation hub in the western Confederacy. Its loss would wreak havoc with lateral communication between Richmond and the western theater for the rest of the war. When the Civil War began, Corinth boasted over a thousand residents; many businesses; five churches; three hotels; and Corona College, a school for young women. Although most in the area opposed secession, Corinth became a mobilization center for Mississippi volunteers in 1861, and tens of thousands of soldiers passed through the town. In early 1862 simultaneous Federal offensives penetrated the upper South, Tennessee River Museum driving Confederate forces southward. Gen. Albert S. Johnston chose Corinth to assemble western Confederate forces and mount a counteroffensive. The small settlement of Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, lay on the west side of the Tennessee River roughly 22 miles northeast of Corinth. Area residents subsisted off small farms carved from old-growth forest, and they worshipped at a local Methodist meetinghouse called Shiloh. Undeveloped country roads linking the Pittsburg steamboat landing to the Corinth rail junction were the primary routes over which river commerce arrived or departed by wagon. The landing was the southernmost river point serviceable to steamboats at both low and high water. In March 1862 Gen. Ulysses S. Grant came up the Tennessee River with a Federal army to sever the western Confederate railroads and move into the Mississippi Valley. On the northern tip of a high plateau wellsuited for camping tens of thousands of soldiers, Pittsburg Landing provided the logical base of operations for the planned Federal offensive against the Confederates at Corinth. Located in Savannah, Tennessee, the museum offers exhibits on prehistoric life in the river valley, the lives of Mississippian Mound Builders, the tragic story of the Trail of Tears, the Civil War on the river, the golden age of steamboats, and the role of the river in people’s lives today. A 20-minute drive from Shiloh Battlefield, the museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm. The adult admission fee is waived with a valid Shiloh park receipt. Children are admitted free. For information call 731-925-2364. ILLUSTRATIONS—NPS / MARTIN PATE Shiloh Indian Mounds National Historic Landmark About 800 years ago, a town occupied the high river bluff at the eastern edge of a plateau. Between two steep ravines, a wooden palisade protected large earthen mounds and dozens of house sites. Six flat-topped mounds around a plaza probably served as platforms for important structures like a chief’s house or a religious building. A dome-shaped burial mound south of the plaza held remains of important residents. The Missouri flint clay effigy pipe found here in 1899 (right) is on display at the Shiloh Battlefield Visitor Center. Shiloh is one of the few places in the eastern United States where the surface remains of prehistoric houses are visible. This prehistoric town was the center of a society that occupied a 20-mile stretch of the Tennessee River valley. Because these people left no written record, many questions about the Shiloh site remain unanswered. Archeological evidence indicates the town was abandoned for some unknown reason several hundred years before the arrival of the first European settlers. What became of the Mound Builders who once lived here remains a mystery. In addition to this site, the Shiloh chiefdom included six smaller towns, each with one or two mounds, and isolated farmsteads on higher ground along the river valley. Downstream on the river’s eastern bank, Savannah, Tennessee, is the site of a palisaded settlement with multiple mounds. Many of the Savannah mounds were built much earlier, about 2,000 years ago. The site was reoccupied at roughly the same time as the Shiloh village. Modern development has obliterated most of Savannah’s prehistoric town. With Johnston concentrating forces at Corinth to resist invading Federal armies and with Grant selecting nearby Pittsburg Landing as his base for mounting a decisive operation against western Confederate railroads, the stage was set for a titanic battle somewhere between these two communities. NPS Shiloh National Military Park Shiloh Battlefield, visitor center, National Cemetery, and Indian mounds are located in Tennessee west of the Tennessee River and reachable via routes 22 and 142. Fallen Timbers Battlefield is southwest of Shiloh National Military Park. Corinth Siege and Battle Shiloh National Military Park’s Corinth Unit has 14 historic sites associated with the siege, battle, and occupations of Corinth, Mississippi, during the Civil War. Confederate and US troops built miles of earthworks to guard the approaches to Corinth from all directions. Several miles of rifle pits, trenches, and artillery positions still exist. Nearby is the 20-acre Corinth National Cemetery, the final resting place for nearly 6,000 Union soldiers who fought at and around Corinth, and Davis Bridge Battlefield, 18 miles northwest of Corinth near Pocahontas, Tennessee. In town are several historic homes, including Hamilton Mask’s Verandah House, used as headquarters for Confederate and Federal generals. You can reach all sites by automobile. Davis Bridge Battlefield is located near Pocahontas and is reachable by taking route 57 to Wolf Pen Road. Shiloh National Military Park Corinth Unit is located southwest of Fallen Timbers Battlefield in Mississippi. Route 22 is the driving route between Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. Shiloh National Military Park Corinth Unit is reachable via U S Interstate 45 and Mississippi Route 2. Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center (above) is near the site of Battery Robinett, scene of some of the heaviest fighting in the October 1862 battle. Exhibits include interactive displays on the Battle of Shiloh and the Siege and Battle of Corinth. Crossroads is a feature film depicting the war’s impact on local people. Stone and flowing water in the commemorative courtyard chronicle the birth and growth of the United States, the accompanying rise of sectionalism, and key events leading to the Civil War and are symbolic representations of four years of war. A bronzed soldier’s jacket and gunner’s sack are among the “detritus of war” found along the path to the Interpretive Center entrance. NPS / MELINDA SCHMITT Corinth Mississippi includes points of interest such as Corinth Battlefield and Siege, Battery F, Confederate and Union siege lines and fortification sites, Corinth Confederate Camp, National Cemetery, Corona College, Federal Redan, Battery Robinett, and Civil War Interpretive Center. Corinth Contraband Camp The security offered by US forces occupying Corinth after May 1862 attracted enslaved African Americans who fled farms and plantations in search of freedom. The migration of these people (at first called “contraband of war”) into occupied Corinth increased dramatically after President Abraham Lincoln’s Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. Issued in September 1862, it authorized, as of January 1, 1863, freedom for all enslaved people in areas then still in rebellion against the United States. To accommodate these refugees, US Gen. Grenville M. Dodge established a camp northeast of town. What began in late 1862 as a tent city had blossomed by mid-1863 into a thriving community of homes with a school, church, hospital, and cooperative farm program. White people from abolitionist and benevolent organizations came to Corinth to offer religious, academic, and vocational instruction to those who were formerly enslaved. Considered a model of its kind, the camp served as a temporary home for 6,000 formerly enslaved people. After implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation, African American men in the camp enlisted in the US Army. This led to the formation of the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment of African Descent (later re-designated the 55th United States Colored Infantry). Nearly 2,000 African American men who passed through the camp enlisted in the US Army. The camp closed in December 1863, a month before Federal forces abandoned Corinth. Formerly enslaved persons moved from Corinth to a refugee facility in Memphis, Tennessee, for the rest of the war. The camp was the first step on the road to freedom and the struggle for equality for thousands of formerly enslaved people. The park preserves a small portion of the historic Corinth Contraband Camp site, open daily from 8 am to 5 pm. For information about the camp, call the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center at 662-287-9273. Life-size bronze sculptures of a laundress (right), farmer, teacher, student, camp superintendent, boy, and US Colored Infantry soldier (below right) depict daily life in the Corinth Contraband Camp. Volunteers (below) proved a valuable addition to the US Army. Below left: “Contrabands” and thousands of formerly enslaved African Americans flocked to Corinth upon Federal occupation of the town. NPS / MELINDA SCHMITT At the base of the courtyard, a reflecting pool is a chance to contemplate the war’s meaning and significance. The center also has a research library and bookstore. The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center is open 8 am to 5 pm daily except Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. There is no admission fee. For information call 662-287-9273. IGPO: 2023—423-201/83086 Last updated 2023 NPS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS NPS