BLOODY BATTLE OF SHILOH BEGINS
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee (JFK+50) On April 6, 1862, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant came under attack along the Tennessee River near SHILOH CHURCH. Grant's forces had captured Forts Henry and Donelson and made their way southward along the river.
In a tragic turn of events for the Confederacy, General Johnston was badly wounded in the afternoon and bled to death on the battlefield.
The two day battle at Shiloh was fought to a tactical draw but because Confederate forces retreated back into Mississippi, military historians see it as a Union victory.
Despite the fact that there would be even bloodier battles to come, because it was the first battle of the War Between the States to have so high numbers of casualties on both sides, the Battle of Shiloh is known as the "Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War."
JFK+50 NOTE
The two day battle of Shiloh is known as the bloodiest battle of the bloodiest war in American history. Sources say 1754 Union soldiers and 1728 Confederate soldiers died...a total of 3, 482.
Today, April 6, 2020, there have been 10,874 deaths in the United States attributed to the coronavirus....a sobering comparison.
Stay home....stay safe!
*Albert Sidney Johnston (1803-1862) was born in Washington, Kentucky and educated at Transylvania University and West Point. He lived most of his life in Texas where he served in the army of Sam Houston. ASJ was the highest ranking officer to lose his life on either side during the Civil War.
Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee (JFK+50) On April 6, 1862, Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant came under attack along the Tennessee River near SHILOH CHURCH. Grant's forces had captured Forts Henry and Donelson and made their way southward along the river.
Confederate troops under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston* and PGT Beauregard launched a surprise attack and by the end of the day had driven Grant's forces back to the river. Union forces under General Benjamin Prentiss*, however, made a stand at the Sunken Road where fighting was so intense this area of the battlefield was called the "Hornets Nest."
In a tragic turn of events for the Confederacy, General Johnston was badly wounded in the afternoon and bled to death on the battlefield.
The two day battle at Shiloh was fought to a tactical draw but because Confederate forces retreated back into Mississippi, military historians see it as a Union victory.
Despite the fact that there would be even bloodier battles to come, because it was the first battle of the War Between the States to have so high numbers of casualties on both sides, the Battle of Shiloh is known as the "Bloodiest Battle of the Civil War."
JFK+50 NOTE
The two day battle of Shiloh is known as the bloodiest battle of the bloodiest war in American history. Sources say 1754 Union soldiers and 1728 Confederate soldiers died...a total of 3, 482.
Today, April 6, 2020, there have been 10,874 deaths in the United States attributed to the coronavirus....a sobering comparison.
Stay home....stay safe!
*Albert Sidney Johnston (1803-1862) was born in Washington, Kentucky and educated at Transylvania University and West Point. He lived most of his life in Texas where he served in the army of Sam Houston. ASJ was the highest ranking officer to lose his life on either side during the Civil War.
Shiloh Church
Shiloh National Battlefield
Photo by Donald Wiles (2006)
