Shiloh/Pittsburg Landing 
April 6-7, 1862
Driving Directions
Shiloh, TN
Updated Tuesday, March 09, 2010 5:52 PM
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Low: 52°F
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Thursday
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Friday
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Saturday
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Click on the map for Interactive, Aerial and Birds Eye Views.
Maj. Gen U.S. Grant USA
Maj. Gen Don C. Buell USA
Brig. Gen Albert S. Johnston CSA (Killed 1st day)
Brig. Gen P G T Beauregard CSA
Shiloh National Cemetery
Shiloh
The Civil War was a war of and about transportation, and in the 1860’s transportation was about riverboats and railroads. For the Confederacy in the west, the key to the railroads lay in Corinth Mississippi. Accordingly, C.S. Gen Albert Sidney Johnston, the supreme Confederate commander in the west, concentrated his forces in Corinth to protect the Memphis & Charleston and the Mobile & Ohio railroad crossing.
U.S. Maj. Gen Henry W. Halleck, the supreme Union commander in the west, ordered the Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen Ulysses S. Grant, and the Army of the Ohio under Maj. Gen Don Carlos Buell to attack Corinth and sever the railroads. Grant moved his army to Pittsburg Landing by riverboat and encamped on Shiloh Hill near the Shiloh Meeting House to wait for Buell.
Johnston and the Army of the Mississippi could not afford to wait for the combined Union forces to attack and moved out of Corinth on April 3 to attack Grant before Buell could arrive. Unfortunately for the Confederates heavy rain and muddy roads extracted their historic toll on the attackers and made the 22 mile march a 2 day nightmare, but by nightfall on April 5th the Confederate Army of 44,000 men was arrayed for battle against Grant’s army of 40,000.
A note about the park: The battle of Shiloh is really straightforward, first the Confederates pushed the Union back, then the Union pushed the Confederates right out of Tennessee, not a lot of fancy maneuvering here, just force on force fighting. But, the Parks Service had to setup their tour to move the maximum amount of people possible from the Bookstore and back with the least amount of trouble, so their tour does not follow the order of the battle. This can and does cause confusion as to what happened here. I am setting up my site to reflect the actual order of the events as they occurred. Each stop, as I have layed them out in this site, contains a picture of the sign and or the map at that loction followed by pictures taken there at or at least near the sign. Also, it is easy to get lost in the monuments and the position markers, if your only there for a day, just focus on the events or you’ll never get off Pittsburg Landing Road.
Other sources of information:
Battlefield Detectives: Civil War: Shiloh (2006) On Netflicks, an interesting alternative view that downplays the stand at the Hornets Nest. I don't know, if the Hornets Nest wasn't an important part of the fight why did the Confederates line up every cannon they had to pound the position into submission?
April 6, 1862
Shiloh Meeting House Tour Stop 7
The Union was camped around the Shiloh Meeting House when the battle started. (Tour Stop 7 and at Tour Stop 10)
Fraley Field Tour Stop 8
Union Line of Defense Tour Stop 9
The patrol returned to Peabody and informed him that the rebels were upon them and Peabody immediately deployed a defensive line along a wooded ridge back in the trees pictured above, the low ridge ran along Shiloh Creek, and there Peabody met the Confederate attack. Peabody’s action held up the Confederate advance for about an hour and prevented the Confederates from falling upon a surprised Union camp. Col. Peabody was under the command of Gen. Prentiss, when Prentiss found out what Peabody had done he told Peabody that his actions would get him a courts martial. Peabody was killed later that mourning while rallying the troops, there is a monument where he fell but the picture I took didn't come out.
Invasion of the Union Camps Tour Stop 10
Here at the Union Camps a now aroused Gen Prentiss made a brief stand, holding the Confederates up for a few precious moments longer and buying the Union some time. Most of the Union survivors fled to Pittsburg Landing but Prentiss was able to rally 500 or so men and join with others at the Hornet’s Nest. The Confederates lost more time looting the Union camp giving the retreating solders a chance to get away and the force with Prentiss a chance to get set along the Sunken Road. Col Peabody saved the Union forces from certain destruction by his actions that morning. It is interesting to note that Peabody saved the day, in the morning, and Prentiss gave him hell for it; but it was Prentiss that saved the day in the afternoon at the sunken road.
Hornet's Nest and the Sunken Road Tour Stop 3
About mid-morning after the fall of the camps, Prentiss fell back to a dense oak thicket along a sunken road that the Union forces could use as a sort of trench. Here they hung on for seven desperate hours while Grant prepared a last line of defense along Pittsburg Landing Road.
The Peach Orchard Tour Stop 13 The left flank of the Union line held by Prentiss along the sunken road was anchored in Sarah Bell’s peach orchard near George W. Manse’s cabin. Here was the scene of intense fighting until 2 p.m. when the Union withdrew north fighting a series of delaying actions until they joined Grant’s final defensive live along the Pittsburg Landing Road. The peach orchard is being replanted as part of the parks service's restoration of the site.
Bullit Holes
Death of General Johnston Tour Stop 12
From the monument to the death of Gen Johnston walk to the right to a dirt Park Service road that goes back into the trees, the actual site of Johnston’s death is marked by the red plaque in the photo below, it’s a little ways back in the trees and over a brook. There is nothing at the big monument by the road to tell of the real location. The tree that Johnston died under was once enclosed in a fence but all that is gone now, only this sign is left.
Jonston's death hit the Confederate attack hard, it took some time for them to re-establish their comand structure. Their new commander Beauregard has to be located on the battlefield and informed that he is now in over all command and unit commanders have to be informed of the change; messangers have to be redirected and staff has to deal with the personality of the new commander. All of this has to happen in the middle of a noisy, confused battle, naturally time and opportunities are lost.
The site where Johnston actually fell.
Ruggles' Batteries Tour Stop 4
After the Confederates finally figured out that they could not dislodge the Prentiss from the sunken road with infantry attacks alone, C.S. Gen Ruggles amassed 11 batteries of cannon to pound the Hornet’s Nest into submission. This broke the back of the suborn defense.
Surrender of the Hornet's Nest Tour Stop 3
Out flanked, out numbered, and massively out gunned, the men defending the Hornet’s Nest had no choice but to surrender; but, their work had been done. The Confederate commander was dead, their attack stalled for most of the day, and Grant had time to prepare a proper defensive line along the river. Union Gen William Wallace died in the effort and Prentiss was captured.
April 7, 1862
By the time Prentiss finally surrendered, about 5:30 p.m., and owing to the confusion among the Confederate commanders at the news of the death of Johnston they were not able to make an effective attack upon Grant’s mainline and the Confederates decided to finish the job in the morning. During the night the Army of the Ohio arrived at Pittsburg Landing to reinforce Grant’s position. He now out numbered the Confederates for the first time since the battle started, but the Confederates didn't know it, Beauregard sent a message to Richmond that a great victory had been won and Grant defeated.
Pittsburg Landing Tour Stop 1
During the night of the 6th the Army of the Ohio crossed the river on steamboats and took up their positions with the Army of the Tennessee. The steep banks of the river hid their arrival from the Confederates who planned on pushing the Union army into the river in the morning.
Grant's Last Line Tour Stop 2
Anchored on the left at the Park headquarters and on the right out Pittsburg Landing Road past Highway 142, with a lot of monuments in between, Grant was in an excellent position to turn the tables on the Confederates in the morning. At dawn, on April 7th the Union launched their own attack head of the planned Confederate attack.
Confederate Retreat Tour Stop 6
The Confederates attempted to stop the Union advance by counter attacking across Water Oaks Pond, but had to retreat back across it when the attack failed.
Bloody Pond Tour Stop 14
During the course of the battle wounded from both sides crawled to this small pond to drink water and die. The water quickly became stained red with blood giving the pond its name.
Shiloh's Casualties Tour Stop 5
Shiloh's Casualties Tour Stop 1
Confederate Memorial
For more pictures of Shiloh see: