A Youth's History of the Great Civil War
Van Evrie, Horton & Co., ©1866
Revised edition, ©2006 www.ronie-mooney-encs.us
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CHAPTER XXI, THE BATTLES OF SHILOH AND PITTSBURG LANDING
WHILE these events were going on in Kentucky and Tennessee, the war was progressing somewhat farther West and on the Mississippi River. In Missouri, not far from the borders of the State of Arkansas, at a place called Elkhorn, there was a severe battle on the 8th of March, 1862. The Federal forces engaged were under the command of Sigel and General Curtis, while the Confederates were commanded by Generals McCulloch, Price, and Van Dorn. The victory seemed to be with the Federals, because the Confederates were the first to withdraw, but the losses, both in killed and wounded, were the heaviest on the side of the Federals.
In this battle the brave Confederate commander, General McCulloch, was killed, and General Stirling Price was severely wounded. The death of General McCulloch was a great loss to the South, for he was one of the bravest and most dashing of all the officers in that service.
At this time the abolition army began to make strong demonstrations on the Mississippi River. The State Legislature of Tennessee had removed from Nashville to Memphis. At Madrid Bend and at Island No. 10 in the Mississippi, above Memphis, were stationed Confederate forces as remote defences of that city. On the 15th of March, 1862, the Federals opened a furious bombardment upon both of these points.
The Confederate defences at these places had been constructed under the skillful supervision of General Beauregard, and were of very great strength. The Federals made the attack with five iron-clad gun-boats and four mortar-boats. The bombardment was kept up continuously night and day for fifteen days, without producing the least visible impression upon the Confederate works. In that time the abolitionists fired three thousand shells, and expended over one hundred thousand pounds of powder, and the only damage they did was to kill one Confederate soldier. But the abolitionists lost two gun-boats, or at least one was sunk and the other disabled. Such were the facts detailed in General Beauregard's official report to the Confederate Government.
But at this critical moment General Beauregard was called away to check a formidable movement of the Federals to cut off his communications with Richmond, by an immense land force of 80,000 men, under General Grant, and another of 40,000, under Buell.
The absence of General Beauregard from Island No. 10 was the cause of its speedy reduction. General McCall, who was appointed to the command of the post, was wholly incompetent for so responsible a trust. The Federals had, with miraculous energy and perseverance, cut a canal across the peninsula formed by the remarkable bend in the river, which was twelve miles in length, and which enabled the Federal gun-boats to get past the impregnable Confederate works at Island No. 10, without much difficulty, especially since the general who had taken Beauregard's place was not over shrewd and vigilant.
This canal was truly a miracle. I have said that it was twelve miles long, but this is the smallest part of the wonder. It had to be cut through a forest of large trees, which had to be "sawed off four feet under water." Through this canal two of the Federal gun-boats slipped past No. 10 on the night of April 5th, while the Federal commander, flag-officer Foote, adroitly held the attention of the Confederate general by an attack on the opposite side.
Now the Mississippi was held both above and below the island by the Federals, in large force at both points. There was nothing left for the Confederate commander to do but to get off as speedily as possible. This he did in the most unskillful and disgraceful manner. He spiked all his guns so imperfectly that they were in a short time unspiked and made servicable to the abolitionists. By this defeat the Confederates lost seventy cannon, most of them of the largest calibre, and a vast amount of powder, shot, shells, and other valuable munitions of war, besides about 200 of their soldiers taken prisoners. It was, under the circumstances, an irreparable loss to the South.
While these events were progressing on the Mississippi River above Memphis, the forces were gathering for an immense battle in Tennessee, about ninety miles east of Memphis. All the Confederate forces that were available were gathered under Beauregard at or near Corinth,which is situated at the junction of the Memphis and Charleston, and Mobile and Ohio railroads in the State of Mississippi.
At this time General Albert Sidney Johnston was also on the march with his army from Murfreesboro, to join General Beauregard at Corinth. The junction of the two armies of Beauregard and Johnston made a really splendid army, though probably much less in numbers than the force under Grant which was then encamped only a few miles away, upon the west bank of the Tennessee River. But it was not General Grant's intention to attack the Confederates until he was reinforced by Buell's army, which was then on the rapid march from Nashville to join him.
Generals Beauregard and Johnston, being apprised of this design, at once resolved to bring on the battle before Buell's army could arrive to reinforce Grant. Accordingly, on the morning of Sunday, the 6th of April, one of the greatest battles of the war was opened, with General Johnston the principal in command on the part of the Confederates. The battle commenced at daylight, and by six or seven o'clock was raging along the whole line of the two armies with terrific splendor. The Confederates fought with a desperation that seemed madness. Everywhere Grant's forces were driven back, although they fought with the greatest courage and determination. Their lines were continually broken, but they were constantly supplied with fresh victims. Thus the battle raged with unabating fury, the tide of victory, setting everywhere in favor of the South, when at two o'clock General Johnston was mortally wounded, while leading an assault at the head of his column. But the battle was already gained, and the dying hero breathed his last amid the wild shouts of the victory he had won.
The news of General Johnston's fall was kept as long as possible from the army. Grant's forces were pushed back to the river. One after another of his positions were carried, until,by six o'clock in the evening, his whole line was forced back to Pittsburg Landing, where he was sheltered by his gunboats. All of Grant's encampments, with an immense amount of spoils, were in the possession of the Confederates, who were the undisputed masters of the field. They had three thousand prisoners,including one division commander, General Prentiss, and several brigade commanders, with many thousand stand of small arms, and vast quantities of forage, subsistence, munitions of war, and any quantity of means of transportation
The number of General Grant's force in this great battle was 45,000 men. The number of Confederates was less than 38,000. The Confederates declared that they had to contend with Western troops, and said, "had we fought against Eastern or New England soldiers, we should have whipped them in half the time." General Prentiss, when he was taken prisoner, said to General Beauregard, "You have defeated our best troops to-day."
The Sunday night of this day's terrible battle, the Confederate troops slept on their arms in the Federal encampment. In the meantime, General Grant's army was in a most perilous condition. His reserve line was entirely destroyed, and his whole army crowded into a small circuit about Pittsburg Landing. They were driven to the very river's bank, and a surrender the next day seemed inevitable. But during the night Grant was reinforced by more fresh troops than Beauregard had in his whole command. Divisions under Generals Buell, Nelson, Crittenden, Thomas, and McCook, had all come just in time to save Grant's whole army from surrender.
At six o'clock on Monday morning, a hot fire from Grant told Beauregard plainly enough the story of the arrival of ample Federal reinforcements. In an hour's time another deadly battle, as fierce as that of the previous day, was raging along the whole line. For four or five hours Beauregard's army repulsed every assault with marvellous valor, several times pushing precipitately back even the columns of fresh troops which were constantly hurled against them in such vast superiority of numbers.
An English officer in the Confederate service, writing a description of the battle, says: "In some places we drove them by unexampled feats of valor, but sheer exhaustion was hourly telling upon both man and beast. Until noon we retained the ground heroically, but it became evident every moment that numbers and strength would ultimately prevail, so that although we had gained everything up to this hour, a retreat was ordered. Beauregard had prepared all the roads for this movement. There was no hurry or confusion, but everything was conducted as if in a review. We slowly fell back, leaving little of consequence behind, General Breckinridge and his Kentuckians bringing up the rear. We thus in an orderly manner fell back about two miles, and obtaining a favorable position for our small force, reformed line of battle, and waited several hours. The enemy did not stir; they seemed content to hold and not pursue, and did not remove five hundred yards from their original position of the morning. General John Pope was entrusted with the duty of following us up, but he acted very cautiously and fearfully, contenting himself with capturing two or three hundred exhausted and foot-sore Tennesseans, who lay down by the roadside."
With characteristic swagger and untruthfulness General Pope telegraphed to Washington: "As yet I have seen nothing but the backs of the rebels." The simple truth was that he did not venture near enough to see even their "backs."
This ended one of the most terrible battles ever fought, either in ancient or modern times.
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