Battle Updates
Battle of Shiloh
On the morning of April 6, 1862, 40,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston poured out of the nearby woods and struck a line of Union soldiers occupying ground near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. The overpowering Confederate offensive drove the unprepared Federal forces from their camps and threatened to overwhelm Ulysses S. Grant’s entire command. However, Johnston was wounded early during the day and command of the Confederate force fell to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard. With the addition of Don Carlos Buell's men, the Union force of around 40,000 outnumbered Beauregard’s army of fewer than 30,000. Beauregard, however, was unaware of Buell’s arrival. Therefore, when a division of Buell’s army attacked Beauregard immediately ordered a counterattack. Though Beauregard's counterattack was initially successful, Union resistance stiffened and the Confederates were compelled to fall back and regroup. Beauregard ordered a second counterattack, which halted the Union advance but ultimately ended in stalemate. By this point, Beauregard realized he was outnumbered and, having already suffered tremendous casualties, broke contact with the Yankees to began a retreat.
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