Disaster at Shiloh

POD

The battle of Shiloh led to the emergence of General William T. Sherman. Due to his leadership and inspiration he held his Division together during the initial Confederate assault and enabled it to retreat in good order. However he did receive two minor wounds and had three horses shot out from under him. It is not a stretch to have him killed while trying to rally his troops.

Secondly, General Albert S. Johnston, the Confederate Commander rode forward to the battle line, leaving his second in command, General PGT Beauregard in the rear to direct men and supplies as needed, this effectively ceded control of the battle to Beauregard, who did not direct the battle as Johnston intended. Additionally, Johnston was killed in the early afternoon of the battle. In this POD Johnston stays to the rear to control the battle.

INITIAL ASSAULT

At 0630 the Confederate Corps of Generals Hardee and Bragg went forward. The ferocity of the attack caused some of the inexperienced Union soldiers to flee for the Tennessee River. However, enough soldiers fought well that although they gave ground under the pressure, they attempted to form new defensive lines. On the right of the Union line was the Division of General Sherman, who was also the on scene Commander. He began riding up and down his line, inspiring his soldiers to hold the line. However, at a little after 0700, General Sherman rocked back as a minie ball struck him in the chest, moments later he fell from the saddle, mortally wounded. The sudden loss of their inspirational leader caused his Division, already cracking under the pressure of the Confederate attack, to collapse and begin fleeing up Purdy Road towards the river. The Division of General McClernand, to the left of Sherman's Division, also began to fall apart from both the pressure of the Confederate attack and the panic and collapse of Sherman's men. General Hardee's Corps gave pursuit, however the effectiveness of the pursuit was diluted by the disorganization of Hardee's Corps and General McClernend was able to piece together a defensive line just to the southwest of the intersection of Purdy Road and the Eastern Corinth Road that slowed Hardee's advance to a crawl. On the Confederate right, the Corps of General Bragg was slowly pushing back the Divisions of Generals Prentiss and WHL Wallace, who were falling back in good order.

Watching from the rear of his lines, General Johnston saw the collapse of the Union right and realized that the Union Army was being pushed towards the Tennessee River and not to the northwest towards the swamps of Owl Creek as he intended. Seeing this, at 0730 he ordered the Corps of General Polk to reinforce Bragg's Corps on the right and the Corps of General Breckenridge to advance his Corps to the east of the Hamburg-Savannah (River) Road and begin pushing the Union forces to the northwest. At first this plan seemed ineffective as Polk's Corps became entangled with Bragg's Corps and slowed the advance. Additionally the Divisions of Generals Prentiss and Wallace had set up an effective defensive line behind a slightly sunken road that came to be called the Hornet's Nest. The advance of Polk and Bragg's Corps slowed to a stop. Their saving grace came from Breckenridge's Corps, although he had been slowed by both having to go a longer distance and the more rough terrain he had to move on, he was able to flank the Hornet's Nest and by 0900 the position collapsed and along with it went the entire Union left flank.

At 0830 General Grant, who had been ten miles downriver at Savannah nursing injuries sustained on April 4th when he horse had fell on him, arrived on the battlefield, having moved towards the battle at the first sounds of cannon fire. He bagan working to bring up reinforcements that were nearby, General Bull Nelson's Division from across the river at the landing and General Lew Wallace's Division from Crump's Landing. However, neither Division would arrive in time to effect the battle.

COLLAPSE 

    General McClernand, who was holding his line against the half-hearted attacks of General Hardee's Corps now began to fall apart under the weight of the collapsing Union left flank and the attacks of Breckenridge's Corps. Grant's entire Army of West Tennessee fell apart and began fleeing to the northwest losing most of their supplies and artillery. General Grant himself, slowed by his injuries, was taken prisoner. By 1000 the battle was effectively over. General Johnston ordered Breckenridge's Corps, which was the most organized, to continue the pursuit and push the remnants of the Union Army into the swamps to the northwest.