{"id":1010,"date":"2012-04-06T05:44:20","date_gmt":"2012-04-06T10:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=1010"},"modified":"2022-04-07T22:40:50","modified_gmt":"2022-04-08T03:40:50","slug":"rediscover-the-battle-of-shiloh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/rediscover-the-battle-of-shiloh\/","title":{"rendered":"“Rediscover the Battle of Shiloh” by Newt Rayburn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shiloh is 114 miles from Oxford, Mississippi, about an hour and a half’s drive.
\nphotographs and article by Newt Rayburn<\/h2>\n
from the The Local Voice #153<\/strong>: http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/LocalVoice-PDFs\/TLV-153-web.pdf<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\"The<\/a>
The first shots of the Battle of Shiloh were fired here at dawn on April 6, 1862. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oxford, Miss. (TLV)<\/strong> – One hundred and sixty years ago one of the most ferocious battles in the history of the United States occurred just over the Mississippi<\/strong>\u2013Tennessee<\/strong> border, near a little church known as Shiloh<\/strong>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Approximately 45,000 Confederate<\/strong> soldiers led by General Albert Sidney Johnston<\/strong> marched from Corinth, Mississippi<\/strong>, to the Tennessee River and surprised Union<\/strong> General Ulysses S. Grant<\/strong>\u2019s 49,000 troops at Pittsburg Landing<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shiloh<\/a>
Shiloh Church. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Johnston\u2019s Army of Mississippi<\/strong> nearly defeated Grant\u2019s Army of The Tennessee<\/strong> on Sunday, April 6, 1862<\/strong> with a surprise attack at dawn. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Confederates overran Union encampments commanded by Brigadier Generals Sherman, Wallace, Prentiss<\/strong>, and Major General Lew Wallace<\/strong> pushing them back towards the Tennessee River in a matter of hours.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of the Union army under the command of Wallace and Prentiss were surrounded in an area called \u201cThe Hornet\u2019s Nest<\/strong>\u201d but they held the Confederates at bay for several hours. <\/span><\/p>\n

Fifty cannons and waves of musketry later, Prentiss and approximately 2,400 federal troops eventually surrendered, but Union General W.H.L. Wallace suffered a mortal wound and died on the battlefield.<\/span><\/p>\n

Confederates suffered nearly 8,500 casualties that day, including General Albert Sidney Johnston, who was mortally wounded near \u201cThe Peach Orchard<\/strong>.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Confederate President Jefferson Davis<\/strong> considered Johnston his most effective general, even more so than Robert E. Lee<\/strong>. The South had lost its greatest commander.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The Hornet’s Nest. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Peach Orchard. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

General P.G.T. Beauregard<\/strong> took command of the Army of Mississippi after Johnston passed at 2:30 pm, but he was unable to push the Union army away from the Tennessee River before the sun set on April 6. <\/span><\/p>\n

In the darkness, both armies hunkered down in their positions as a thunderstorm passed through the area. The night was filled with rain, cries of the wounded between the armies, and the systematic shelling of Confederate positions by Union gunboats on the river. <\/span><\/p>\n

Everyone was terrified that night.<\/span><\/p>\n

A famous Civil War anecdote occurred this evening when Sherman met Grant under a tree. <\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. Grant was smoking a cigar and contemplating the situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sherman said, \u201cWell, we\u2019ve had the devil\u2019s own day, haven\u2019t we?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Grant puffs his cigar and looked up. \u201cYes. Lick \u2018em tomorrow, though.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Beauregard prematurely thought he would defeat Grant the next morning and even dismissed reports by Colonel Nathan Bedford Forrest<\/strong> that Grant\u2019s army was being reinforced. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, Grant\u2019s army grew that night by over 15,000 fresh troops supplied by General Don Carlos Buell<\/strong> who had marched his troops from Nashville.<\/span><\/p>\n

At dawn on April 7, 1862, Grant and Buell launched a counter offensive against Beauregard\u2019s troops and fought the Confederates back throughout the day. <\/span><\/p>\n

General Sherman described some of the fighting that day as \u201cthe severest musketry fire I ever heard.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The battle of 100,000 soldiers fighting in an area smaller than Oxford was intense. Many of the wounded and dying soldiers gathered around a small pond which ran thick with blood. The surviving Confederates started their retreat back to Corinth and the Union army did not pursue.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Fallen<\/a>
Fallen Timbers Battlefield. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Fallen<\/a>
Fallen Timbers Battlefield. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On April 8, 1862 Sherman\u2019s troops marched to an area southwest of Shiloh. <\/span><\/p>\n

They came across a Confederate Hospital that was protected by 200 yards of cut timber, and 300 riders of Nathan Bedford Forrest\u2019s Cavalry.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forrest ordered a charge against Sherman\u2019s men and in the melee, Confederate troopers overran Union troops, nearly capturing Sherman.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forrest charged right into the Union soldiers without regard and unloaded his guns and slashed with his sabre. <\/span><\/p>\n

Sherman\u2019s men yelled out, \u201cKill him and his horse!\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

As legend has it, Forrest grabbed a Union soldier and used the man as a shield to cover his back during his dash to escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forrest suffered a serious wound to the hip, but later recovered, and the Battle of Fallen Timbers<\/strong> propelled him to legend among Confederate troops. <\/span><\/p>\n

Colonel Forrest was quickly promoted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Pittsburg<\/a>
Pittsburg Landing. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 April 9, 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After the war, Union General William T. Sherman<\/strong> remarked, \u201cI am sure that had he (Forrest) not emptied his pistols as he passed through the skirmish line, my career would have ended right there.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Forrest\u2019s charge paid off. Sherman and his troops fled back to Pittsburg Landing, and the Confederates escaped to Corinth.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Battle of Shiloh is one the bloodiest in American history. Union casualties numbered over 13,000 and the Confederates suffered nearly 11,000. Citizens in the North and South were shocked at the carnage and any notion of a short war was dismissed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Ole<\/a>
Ole Miss’ Dead House. Photograph by Newt Rayburn \u00a9 2011<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Many of Shiloh\u2019s casualties were moved by train from Corinth to Oxford, Mississippi<\/strong>, and some buildings at the University of Mississippi<\/strong> were used as hospitals and morgues. <\/span><\/p>\n

Farley Hall was once the location of the \u201cDead House<\/strong>\u201d and was used as a mortuary for dead soldiers. Many of those soldiers are buried in the Confederate Cemetery right behind Tad Smith Coliseum<\/strong> on the Ole Miss campus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today we can only imagine the horror that must have gripped Oxford as trains of casualties were shipped into town following the Battle of Shiloh. In the months afterwards, towns around Northeast Mississippi fell to Union forces. <\/span><\/p>\n

Oxford was inevitably in General Grant\u2019s sights. <\/span><\/p>\n

But that is a story for another day…<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0See more of Newt Rayburn’s photographs from Shiloh National Military Park here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Read more of The Local Voice’s coverage of the 150th Anniversary of the Battle of Shiloh here:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cRediscover the Battle of Shiloh\u201d
\nby Newt Rayburn
\n<\/a><\/span>Including exclusive photographs from important areas of the battlefield.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy I Reenact\u201d by Brian Walker
\n<\/a><\/span>Including exclusive photographs of the Sesquicentennial Reenactment of the Battle of Shiloh.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShiloh’s Grand Illumination, April 7, 2012\u201d
\nby Newt Rayburn
\n<\/a><\/span>Including exclusive photographs of the 23,746 luminarias placed at the site of the Battle of Shiloh, 150 years later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shiloh is 114 miles from Oxford, Mississippi, about an hour and a half’s drive. photographs and article by<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[1112,6760,5944,10188,2474,10185,1385,10184,7085,1730,10193,10194,4055,10190,5,2935,15,7067,4,6758,10187,10189,4097,1393,5318,310,1389,10186,10191,10192,2498,10195,655,2336,5319],"class_list":["post-1010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-civil-war","tag-1112","tag-albert-sidney-johnston","tag-april-6","tag-army-of-mississippi","tag-army-of-the-tennessee","tag-battle-of-fallen-timbers","tag-battle-of-shiloh","tag-cavalry","tag-civil-war","tag-corinth","tag-dead-house","tag-don-carlos-buell","tag-jefferson-davis","tag-lew-wallace","tag-mississippi","tag-nathan-bedford-forrest","tag-newt-rayburn","tag-ole-miss","tag-oxford","tag-p-g-t-beauregard","tag-pittsburg-landing","tag-prentiss","tag-robert-e-lee","tag-sesquicentennial","tag-sherman","tag-shiloh","tag-tad-smith-coliseum","tag-tennessee-river","tag-the-hornets-nest","tag-the-peach-orchard","tag-u-s-grant","tag-ulysses-grant","tag-university-of-mississippi","tag-wallace","tag-william-t-sherman"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/2011-04-09-Shiloh-264.jpg?fit=972%2C648&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}