Every war has at least one pivotal point that begs the question, “What if this event had happened differently?” The American Civil War is no exception. Many Southerners made claims that the winning of the Battle of Shiloh could have won the entire war for the Confederacy. Because they lost, however, debate is still had about who is really to blame for the failure at Shiloh. Many try to pinpoint the blame to one specific factor whether that be the leadership under General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard following General Albert Sidney Johnston’s death, the intel that was far below par, or the equipment the Confederate soldiers had to use. In reality, it was a combination between all these factors that would seal the Confederates’ fate. …show more content…
On April 3, Gen. Johnston mobilized his troops and marched towards Pittsburg Landing where they arrived on April 6 because of road and whether conditions. At 5:00 AM, Johnston launched a surprise attack on the unsuspecting Union camps. Because the divisions that had little to no experience were in the area where the attack was first made, the Confederates quickly broke through many Union lines successfully and wreaked havoc. They stormed the camps and slaughtered many of these men in their tents. The Union forces were pushed back at their flanks. One line, however, stood firm against the Confederate onslaught. General Benjamin M. Prentiss held his line and did not allow the Confederates to break through while fighting in a sunken road that is estimated to be about 3 feet deep in what is known as the “The Hornet’s Nest” while waiting for reinforcements.
By the end of the first day of fighting, it seemed clear that the Confederates dominated the North by inflicting a high number of casualties and had nearly wiped out Grant’s entire force. The South suffered an even more monumental blow that day in the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston was fatally shot in the leg just outside the “Hornet’s Nest” and bled to death shortly thereafter. As a four-star general, he is still the highest ranking officer killed in
It was well believed until Jackson’s forces began unloading rounds on the Union army stopping McDowell’s forces from advancing, holding the line like “a stone wall.” As the new Union recruits witnessed battle for the first time and felt the lack of preparation, they were quick to retreat back to Washington DC. The Southern victory and the tens of thousands of lives lost proved to the Union that this war was not going to be easily won.
After Shiloh the South would never smile again. Known originally as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, The Battle of Shiloh was the bloodiest battle fought in North America up to that time. Pittsburg Landing was an area from where the Yankees planned to attack the Confederates who had moved from Fort Donelson to Corinth, Mississippi. The North was commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant and the South by General Albert Sydney Johnston.
The second phase of the Battle of Shiloh starts as reinforcements from General Buell’s Army of the Ohio and a unit of Grant’s own reserve division joined the Union Army now positioned at Pittsburg Landing. These reinforcements added over 22,500 men to the Union lines13 bringing the total number of Union forces to over 45,000, which is more than they had on 6 April, the first day of fighting.14 On April 7, General Grant renewed the fighting with an aggressive counteract.15 Greatly outnumbered (Confederate forces now around 25,000) and disorganized the Confederate forces now under General Beauregard fought hard but eventually had to retreat to back Corinth.16 The second phase of the Battle of Shiloh was won by General Grant and his Union forces due to two main reasons. The first, Union troop numbers greatly outnumbered their enemy, over 45,000 to 25,000 respectively. And secondly, the reinforcements received by General Grant had not fought the day before and were fresh and excited to fight, unlike the exhausted remaining Confederate troops.17 This was the bloodiest battle fought on American soil up to that point, with 23,746 casualties (Union: 13,047; Confederate: 10,699).18 The Union lost more men but claimed the victory because the Confederate Army retreated back to Corinth, Mississippi.
The Civil War, the bloodiest war in American History, had many causes that turned brother against brother. The issue of slavery was the largest conflict between the north and the south. The south was upset with many things such as Slavery, government, and legislative issues. All these conflicts eventually led to secession, and the horrific war began.
In 1863, “a great civil war” (Lincoln, 1863) was raging across the land and seas of the North American continent. Union and Confederate forces were locked in a deadly struggle for control of America’s future. Yet, despite the Union’s undeniable logistical and infrastructural advantages over the Confederacy, the war was not progressing in favour of the Union. The Confederate generals had managed to outsmart and outmaneuver the Union armies repeatedly, dealing defeat after defeat to the North, greatly demoralizing the populace. As such, the Confederates, who were fighting not to conquer the Union, but rather to survive, were inching
On April 6, 1862 General Albert Sidney Johnston of the Confederacy attacked the Pittsburg Landing over by the Tennessee River. There were many important events that took place during this battle like that of the Hornet’s Nest and many others. Many men died in this conflict on both sides.
Throughout the battle only three soldiers died for both the Confederate and the Union and a compact total of 35 soldiers wounded. Braxton Bragg’s report of this battle is surprisingly short for over a 10-day battle. Bragg’s report was only two pages long and only four paragraphs long. In this report, there is only one time where the reports of an important detail are correct between the Union and Confederate. Bragg was on watch and was quick to respond when he received information because he knew that the Union had outnumbered them. Also, the confederate had no horses and hardly any weapons or artillery. “The enemy exceeded us in numbers, and was well intrenched from sea to river, a distance not exceeding one mile.” (Bragg
On April 6, 1862 the Battle of Shiloh broke out in Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. It was the Confederate troops attacking the Union forces. The Battle of Shiloh was one of the bloodiest engagements of the Civil War. The south suffered more than 11,000 casualties and the North with 13,000 casualties. Ulysses S. Grant was the leader of the Union troops and Albert Sidney Johnston was the leader of the Confederate troops. In the battle of Shiloh, the Confederates attacked the Union force hoping to crush them before others arrived. Confederate troops marched toward the Union position without the protection of trees or even foxholes. Every charge was met with a flurry of bullets from Union soldiers using vegetation and mounds of earth as cover.
Introduction: On the twelfth of April 1861, Union troops had just taken refuge in Fort Sumter under the cover of darkness. They were out number out gunned and running out of time. The newly formed Confederate States of America (CSA) had now occupied the five other military installations within the Garrison. At 0430, the first shot of the American Civil War rang out and Fort Sumter was fast under the barrage that the surrounding garrison forts occupied by the confederate forces (sumter). Major Anderson was reluctant to return fire, as his previous orders were not to be the aggressor. The first shots returned in volley to the confederate forces was by a private under the Major Anderson, who raced up to the third story of Fort Sumter where the largest artillery guns were loaded and ready to fire. In following his lead, other soldiers in the fort also began firing on the confederate antagonists (Civil War Journal: Destiny of Fort Sumter, 1993). Thirty four hours later Major Anderson surrendered the fort over to General Beauregard without a single loss of life on either side of the battle. However, death was soon to befall the soldiers of Fort Sumter. Thesis: The complete lack of organized military and government intelligence solidified the abysmal start to the civil war. If the Union leadership during the Buchanan administration had anticipated the treachery of the southern officers and leaders within the federal government then they could have prevented the secession
General Jackson’s II Corps attacked during the afternoon of May 2nd. Opposing them was a Union force that had gathered for supper and was wholly unprepared to defend itself. Union forces rapidly withered and routed under the Confederate onslaught, retreating within hundreds of meters of General Hooker’s headquarters. Within several hours of the initial attack, nightfall forced a halt to the Confederate offensive and offered a reprieve for Union forces. Determined to prevent the Union Army from regrouping and consolidating its lines during the night, General Jackson conducted a reconnaissance of Union lines with key members of his staff, in preparation for a night attack. While returning from the evening reconnaissance, Confederate soldiers from North Carolina misidentified Jackson and his staff and fired upon them, wounding Jackson and several other staff officers. Upon learning of Jackson’s condition, General Stuart immediately assumed command of II Corps.
In early August 1861, the Confederates approached Unions army, which was camped at Springfield, Missouri. On August ninth, 1861, both the Confederates and the Union made plans to attack each other. On August tenth, the Union attacked the Confederates on Wilson’s creek about twelve miles southwest from Springfield. Confederate cavalry received the first shot and retreated from the high ground, later known as the “bloody hill”. Infantry soon rushed up to stabilize their positions.
Since the final battle of the American Civil War was fought in 1865, scholars have debated the reasons for the Union’s victory over the Confederacy. Historians have attributed the war’s outcome to many factors, some of which include Lincoln’s superior leadership, the South’s failure to diplomatically secure foreign intervention, emancipated slaves enlisting in the Union army, and the military strategies employed by the North’s generals. Both the Union and Confederacy expected a quick victory, each believing it possessed several advantages over the other. In the end, however, the North’s overwhelming
Johnston launched a surprise attack on Grant’s camps around Shiloh Church and drove the Federal forces back to a defensive position at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. During the afternoon, Johnston was wounded in the leg and bled to death. He was replaced by Gen. Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, commander of the Army of the Mississippi. As darkness of the night came, Beauregard called a halt to the fighting and pulled his soldiers back from the landing, where they were being fired at by two gunboats,
When one thinks about the American Civil War that waged from 1861-1864, the question at hand begs to be asked: what could the Confederacy have done to win the war? Ideally, according to Robert G. Tanner in his book Retreat to Victory? the idea that the south might have won the war had it used a different strategy might be impossible to answer. That being said, Tanner argues that amongst many theories that have developed over what the Confederacy could have done to win the Civil War, the strategy commonly referred to as Fabian would not be a prosperous endeavor by the Confederacy due to the southern geography, people and most importantly through the Confederacy’s generals.
Johnston originally planned to attack Grant on April 4, but delays postponed it until the 6th. Attacking the Union troops on the morning of the 6th, the Confederates surprised them, routing many. Some Federals made determined stands and by afternoon, they had established a battle line at the sunken road, known as the "Hornets Nest." Repeated Rebel attacks failed to carry the Hornets Nest, but massed artillery helped to turn the tide as Confederates surrounded the Union troops and captured, killed, or wounded most. Johnston had been mortally wounded earlier and his second in command, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, took over. The Union troops established another line covering Pittsburgh Landing, anchored with artillery and augmented by Buell’s men who began to arrive and take up positions. Fighting continued until after dark, but the Federals held. By the next morning, the combined Federal forces numbered about 40,000, outnumbering Beauregard’s army of less than 30,000. Beauregard was unaware of the arrival of Buell’s army and launched a counterattack in response to a two-mile advance by William Nelson’s division of Buell’s army at 6:00 am, which was, at first, successful. Union troops stiffened and began forcing the Confederates back. Beauregard ordered a counterattack, which stopped the Union advance but did not break its battle line. At this point, Beauregard realized that he could not win and, having suffered too many