The Battle of Shiloh began on April 6, 1862 when Confederate forces led by Albert Sidney Johnston launched a surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant's Union troops near Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. The Confederates hoped to push the Union forces towards nearby creeks where they could be destroyed. Although the Union troops were initially overwhelmed by the surprise attack, reinforcements arrived and helped them launch a counterattack the next day, defeating the Confederates. The two-day Battle of Shiloh resulted in over 23,000 casualties and was a crucial Union victory that paved the way for later successes on the Mississippi River.