2. Near the Tennessee River
The Union had just
captured Forts
Henry and Donelson
in February
Those victories
opened the way for
General Ulyssess S
Grant to head south
into Tennessee
3. The Union:
General Grant
had an army of
30,000 men
marching south
to face the
Confederates
Don Carlos Buell
had an even
larger army,
50,000 men
marching west to
join Grant’s army
4. The Confederates:
General Albert T. Johnston had a troop
of 45,000 men
He believed that his best chance of
recapturing western Tennessee was to
launch a surprise offensive against
Grant as quickly as possible, before the
other army could get there
5. Taken by Surprise
The morning of April 6th thousands of
Confederate soldiers in gray charged out of
the woods screaming their “rebel yell”
Grant was unaware of Johnston’s arrival, he
had not set up lookouts to guard the army
6. Panic shot through Grant’s army
Many disorganized Union troops looked for
places to hide rather than fight
For 12 hours the Confederates pounded the
Federals, and by night time had captured the
key position of Shiloh Chapel
7. Confederate General Johnston
killed
Johnston was shot in the leg, severing an
important artery
He ignored it and bled to death on the
battlefield
General Pierce GT Beauregard took over
8. Union Generals stand tall
WT Sherman regrouped and rallied his forces
and continued to push back
Benjamin M Prentiss made a stand on a hill in
the heart of Grant’s position
They called it “The Hornet’s Nest”
9. Exhausted Armies
By 7:00 the battlefields fell silent
Both sides decided to rest and resume
conflict the next day
Union General Buell’s division joined over
night to strengthen Union forces
10. The Second day
Union troop counterattacked the next morning
Confederates quickly lost all the ground
they’d gained
By the afternoon Confederate General
Beauregard ordered a retreat
11. The battle was one of the
bloodiest of the war
The south lost over 10,000 troops
The north lost over 13,000 and narrowly
avoided defeat
The Battle of Shiloh began the defeat of the
Southern cause in that region