THE BATTLE.
FROM DAYBREAK TILL TEN O'CLOCK.
It was a lovely morning. A few fleecy clouds floated in the sky. The
trees were putting out their tender leaves. The air was fragrant with
the first blossoms of spring. The birds were singing their sweetest
songs.
At three o'clock the Rebel troops were under arms, their breakfasts
eaten, their blankets folded, their knapsacks laid aside. They were to
move unencumbered, that they might fight with more vigor. The morning
brightened, and the long lines moved through the forest.
The Union army was asleep. The reveille had not been beaten. The
soldiers were still dreaming of home, or awaiting the morning drum-beat.
The mules and horses were tied to the wagons, whinnying for their oats
and corn. A few teamsters were astir. Cooks were rekindling the
smouldering camp-fires. The pickets, a mile out, had kept watch through
the night. There had been but little firing. There was nothing to
indicate the near approach of fifty thousand men. Beauregard had ordered
that there should be no picket-firing through the night.
General Prentiss had strengthened his picket-guard on the Corinth Ridge
road Saturday night. Some of his officers reported that Rebel cavalry
were plenty in the woods. He therefore doubled his grand guard, and
extended the line. He also ordered Colonel Moore, of the Twenty-first
Missouri, to go to the front with five companies of his regiment.
Colonel Moore marched at three o'clock. General Prentiss did not expect
a battle, but the appearance of the Rebels along the lines led him to
take these precautions.
About the time Colonel Moore reached the pickets the Rebel skirmishers
came in sight. The firing began. The pickets resolutely maintained their
ground, but the Rebels pushed on. Colonel Moore, hearing the firing,
hastened forward. It was hardly light enough to distinguish men from
trees, but the steady advance of the Rebels convinced him that they were
making a serious demonstration. He sent a messenger to General Prentiss
for the balance of his regiment, which was sent forward. At the same
time General Prentiss issued orders for the remainder of his division to
form.
[Illustration: PITTSBURG LANDING.
1 Hurlburt's division.
2 W. H. L. Wallace's division.
3 McClernand's division.
4 Sherman's division.
5 Prentiss's division.
6 Stuart's brigade.
7 Lewis Wallace's division.
8 Gunboats.
9 Transports.
10 Ravine.
A Hardee's line.
B Bragg's line.
C Polk's line.
D Breckenridge's reserves.]
His entire force was seven regiments, divided into two brigades. The
first brigade was commanded by Colonel Peabody, and contained the
Twenty-fifth Missouri, Sixteenth Wisconsin, and Twelfth Michigan. The
second brigade was composed of the Eighteenth and Twenty-third Missouri,
Eighteenth Wisconsin, and Sixty-first Illinois. The Twenty-third
Missouri was at Pittsburg Landing, having just disembarked from a
transport, and was not with the brigade till nearly ten o'clock. When
the firing began, its commander, having been ordered to report to
General Prentiss, moved promptly to join the division.
General Prentiss also sent an officer to Generals Hurlburt and Wallace,
commanding the divisions in his rear, near the Landing, informing them
that the Rebels were attacking his pickets in force. The firing
increased. The Twenty-first Missouri gave a volley or two, but were
obliged to fall back.
There had been a great deal of practising at target in the regiments,
and every morning the pickets, on their return from the front,
discharged their guns, and so accustomed had the soldiers become to the
constant firing, that these volleys, so early in the morning, did not
alarm the camp.
The orders which General Prentiss had issued were tardily acted upon.
Many of the officers had not risen when the Twenty-first Missouri came
back upon the double-quick, with Colonel Moore and several others
wounded. They came in with wild cries. The Rebels were close upon their
heels.
General Johnston had, as you have already seen, four lines of troops.
The third corps was in front, commanded by Major-General Hardee, the
second corps next, commanded by General Bragg; the first corps next,
commanded by Major-General Polk, followed by the reserves under General
Breckenridge.
General Hardee had three brigades, Hindman's, Cleburn's, and Wood's.
General Bragg had two divisions, containing six brigades. The first
division was commanded by General Ruggles, and contained Gibson's,
Anderson's, and Pond's brigades. The second division was commanded by
General Withers, and contained Gladden's, Chalmers's, and Jackson's
brigades.
General Polk had two divisions, containing four brigades. The first
division was commanded by General Clark, and contained Russell's and
Stewart's brigades. The second division was commanded by Major-General
Cheatham, and contained Johnson's and Stephens's brigades.
Breckenridge had Tabue's, Bowen's and Statham's brigades. General
Gladden's brigade of Withers's division was placed on the right of
Hardee's line. It was composed of the Twenty-first, Twenty-fifth,
Twenty-sixth Alabama, and First Louisiana, with Robertson's battery.
Hindman's brigade joined upon Gladden's. Gladden followed Colonel
Moore's force, and fell upon Prentiss's camp.
Instantly there was a great commotion in the camp,--shouting, hallooing,
running to and fro, saddling horses, seizing guns and cartridge-boxes,
and forming in ranks. Gladden advanced rapidly, sending his bullets into
the encampment. Men who had not yet risen were shot while lying in their
tents.
But General Prentiss was all along his lines, issuing his orders,
inspiring the men who, just awakened from sleep, were hardly in
condition to act coolly. He ordered his whole force forward, with the
exception of the Sixteenth Iowa, which had no ammunition, having arrived
from Cairo on Saturday evening.
There was a wide gap between Prentiss's right and Sherman's left, and
Hardee, finding no one to oppose him, pushed his own brigades into the
gap, flanking Prentiss on one side and Sherman on the other, as you will
see by a glance at the diagram on page 173.
Behind Gladden were Withers's remaining brigades, Chalmers's, and
Jackson's. Chalmers was on the right, farther east than Gladden. He had
the Fifth, Seventh, Ninth, Tenth Mississippi, and Fifty-second
Tennessee, and Gage's battery.
Jackson had the Second Texas, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, and Nineteenth
Alabama, and Girardey's battery. Chalmers moved rapidly upon Prentiss's
left flank. Gage's and Robertson's batteries both opened with shell.
Jackson came up on Prentiss's right, and in a short time his six
regiments were engaged with twelve of Bragg's and two batteries.
They curled around Prentiss on both flanks, began to gain his rear to
cut him off from the Landing, and separate him from Stuart's brigade of
Sherman's division, which was a mile distant on the Hamburg road. The
regiments on the left began to break, then those in the centre. The
Rebels saw their advantage. Before them, dotting the hillside, were the
much-coveted tents. They rushed on with a savage war-cry.
General Prentiss, aided by the cool and determined Colonel Peabody,
rallied the faltering troops in front, but there was no power to stop
the flood upon the flanks.
"Don't give way! Stand firm! Drive them back with the bayonet!" shouted
Colonel Peabody, and some Missourians as brave as he remained in their
places, loading and firing deliberately.
"On! on! forward boys!" cried General Gladden, leading his men; but a
cannon-shot came screaming through the woods, knocked him from his
horse, inflicting a mortal wound. The command devolved on Colonel Adams
of the First Louisiana.
But the unchecked tide was flowing past Prentiss's gallant band.
Prentiss looked up to the right and saw it there, the long lines of men
steadily moving through the forest. He galloped to the left and saw it
there. The bayonets of the enemy were glistening between him and the
brightening light in the east. His men were losing strength. They were
falling before the galling fire, now given at short range. They were
beginning to flee. He must fall back, and leave his camp, or be
surrounded. His troops ran in wild disorder. Men, horses,
baggage-wagons, ambulances, bounded over logs and stumps and through
thickets in indescribable confusion. Colonel Peabody was shot from his
horse, mortally wounded, and his troops, which had begun to show pluck
and endurance, joined the fugitives.
Prentiss advised Hurlburt of the disaster. Hurlburt was prepared. He
moved his division forward upon the double-quick. Prentiss's
disorganized regiments drifted through it, but his ranks were unshaken.
The Rebels entered the tents of the captured camp, threw off their old
clothes, and helped themselves to new garments, broke open trunks,
rifled the knapsacks, and devoured the warm breakfast. They were
jubilant; they shouted, danced, sung, and thought the victory won. Two
or three hundred prisoners were taken, disarmed, and their pockets
searched. They were obliged to give up all their money, and exchange
clothes with their captors, and then were marched to the rear.
While this was taking place in Prentiss's division, Sherman's pickets
were being driven back by the rapid advance of the Rebel lines. It was a
little past sunrise when they came in, breathless, with startling
accounts that the entire Rebel army was at their heels. The officers
were not out of bed. The soldiers were just stirring, rubbing their
eyes, putting on their boots, washing at the brook, or tending their
camp-kettles. Their guns were in their tents; they had a small supply of
ammunition. It was a complete surprise.
Officers jumped from their beds, tore open the tent-flies, and stood in
undress to see what it was all about. The Rebel pickets rushed up within
close musket range and fired.
"Fall in! Form a line! here, quick!" were the orders from the officers.
There was running in every direction. Soldiers for their guns, officers
for their sabres, artillerists to their pieces, teamsters to their
horses. There was hot haste, and a great hurly-burly.
General Hardee made a mistake at the outset. Instead of rushing up with
a bayonet-charge upon Sherman's camp, and routing his unformed brigades
in an instant, as he might have done, he unlimbered his batteries and
opened fire.
The first infantry attack was upon Hildebrand's brigade, composed of the
Fifty-third, Fifty-ninth, and Seventy-sixth Ohio, and the Fifty-third
Illinois, which was on the left of the division. Next to it stood
Buckland's brigade, composed of the Forty-eighth, Seventieth, and
Seventy-second Ohio. On the extreme right, west of the church, was
McDowell's brigade, composed of the Sixth Iowa, Fortieth Illinois, and
Forty-sixth Ohio. Taylor's battery was parked around the church, and
Waterhouse's battery was on a ridge a little east of the church, behind
Hildebrand's brigade.
Notwithstanding this sudden onset, the ranks did not break. Some men
ran, but the regiments formed with commendable firmness. The Rebel
skirmishers came down to the bushes which border the brook south of the
church, and began a scattering fire, which was returned by Sherman's
pickets, which were still in line a few rods in front of the regiments.
There was an open space between the Fifty-seventh and Fifty-third
regiments of Hildebrand's brigade, and Waterhouse, under Sherman's
direction, let fly his shells through the gap into the bushes. Taylor
wheeled his guns into position on both sides of the church.
Hindman, Cleburn, and Wood advanced into the gap between Sherman and
Prentiss, and swung towards the northwest upon Sherman's left flank.
Ruggles, with his three brigades, and Hodgson's battery of Louisiana
artillery, and Ketchum's battery, moved upon Sherman's front. He had
Gibson's brigade on the right, composed of the Fourth, Thirteenth, and
Nineteenth Louisiana, and the First Arkansas. Anderson's brigade was
next in line, containing the Seventeenth and Twentieth Louisiana, and
Ninth Texas, a Louisiana and a Florida battalion. Pond's brigade was on
the left, and contained the Sixteenth and Eighteenth Louisiana,
Thirty-eighth Tennessee, and two Louisiana battalions.
When the alarm was given, General Sherman was instantly on his horse. He
sent a request to McClernand to support Hildebrand. He also sent word to
Prentiss that the enemy were in front, but Prentiss had already made the
discovery, and was contending with all his might against the avalanche
rolling upon him from the ridge south of his position. He sent word to
Hurlburt that a force was needed in the gap between the church and
Prentiss. He was everywhere present, dashing along his lines, paying no
attention to the constant fire aimed at him and his staff by the Rebel
skirmishers, within short musket range. They saw him, knew that he was
an officer of high rank, saw that he was bringing order out of
confusion, and tried to pick him off. While galloping down to
Hildebrand, his orderly, Halliday, was killed.
The fire from the bushes was galling, and Hildebrand ordered the
Seventy-seventh and Fifty-seventh Ohio to drive out the Rebels. They
advanced, and were about to make a charge, when they saw that they were
confronted by Hardee's line, moving down the slope. The sun was just
sending its morning rays through the forest, shining on the long line of
bayonets. Instead of advancing, Hildebrand fell back and took position
by Waterhouse, on the ridge. When Hildebrand advanced, two of
Waterhouse's guns were sent across the brook, but they were speedily
withdrawn, not too soon, however, for they were needed to crush Hindman
and Cleburn who were crossing below Hildebrand.
Upon the south side of the brook there was a field and a crazy old
farm-house. Ruggles came into the field, halted, and began to form for a
rapid descent to the brook. His troops were in full view from the
church.
"Pay your respects to those fellows over there," said Major Taylor to
the officer commanding his own battery. Taylor was chief of artillery in
Sherman's division, and was not in immediate command of his own battery.
When he first saw them come into the field he thought they were not
Rebels, but some of Prentiss's men, who had been out on the front. He
hesitated to open fire till it was ascertained who they were. He rode
down to Waterhouse, and told him to fire into the field. He galloped up
to McDowell's brigade, where Barrett's battery was stationed, and told
the officer commanding to do the same. In a moment the field was smoking
hot, shells bursting in the air, crashing through Ruggles's ranks, and
boring holes in the walls of the dilapidated old cabin. The Rebels could
not face in the open field so severe a fire. Instead of advancing
directly against the church, they moved into the woods east of the
field, and became reinforcements to the brigades already well advanced
into the gap between Sherman and Prentiss.
They came up on Hildebrand's left flank. The thick growth of hazel and
alders along the brook concealed their movements. They advanced till
they were not more than three hundred feet from the Fifty-third and
Fifty-seventh Ohio before they began their fire. They yelled like
demons, screeching and howling to frighten the handful of men supporting
Waterhouse. Taylor saw that they intended an attack upon Waterhouse. He
rode to the spot. "Give them grape and canister!" he shouted. It was
done. The iron hail swept through the bushes. The yelling suddenly
ceased. There were groans and moans instead. The advance in that
direction was instantly checked.
But all the while the centre brigades of Hardee were pushing into the
gap, and, without serious opposition, were gaining Sherman's left flank.
Waterhouse began to limber up his guns for a retreat. Taylor feared a
sudden panic.
"Contest every inch of ground. Keep cool. Give them grape. Let them have
all they want," said Taylor.
Waterhouse unlimbered his guns again, wheeled them a little more to the
east, almost northeast, and opened a fire which raked the long lines and
again held them in check. Taylor sent to Schwartz, Dresser, and
McAllister, connected with McClernand's division, to come into position
and stop the flank movement.
This took time. The Rebels, seeing their advantages, and hoping to cut
off Sherman, pushed on, and in five minutes were almost in rear of
Waterhouse and Hildebrand. They gained the ridge which enfiladed
Hildebrand. Cleburn and Wood swung up against Waterhouse. He wheeled
still farther north, working his guns with great rapidity. They rushed
upon him with the Indian war-whoop. His horses were shot. He tried to
drag off his guns. He succeeded in saving three, but was obliged to
leave the other three in their hands.
General McClernand had promptly responded to Sherman's request to
support Hildebrand. Three regiments of Raitt's and Marsh's brigades were
brought round into position in rear of Hildebrand. You remember that
McClernand's division was facing northwest, and this movement,
therefore, was a change of front to the southeast. The Eleventh Illinois
formed upon the right of Waterhouse. The other two, the Forty-third and
Thirtieth Illinois, were on the left, in rear. The fight was in
Hildebrand's camp. There was a fierce contest. Two thirds of
Hildebrand's men had been killed and wounded, or were missing. Most of
the missing had fled towards the river. The regiments that remained were
mixed up. The sudden onset had thrown them into confusion. There was but
little order. Each man fought for himself. It was a brave little band,
which tried to save the camp, but they were outnumbered and outflanked.
The Eleventh Illinois lost six or eight of its officers by the first
volley, yet they stood manfully against the superior force.
Meanwhile, Buckland and McDowell were in a hot fight against Anderson
and Pond, who had moved to the western border of the field, and were
forming against McDowell's right. Barrett and Taylor were thundering
against them, but there were more cannon replying from the Rebel side.
They were so far round on McDowell's flank, that the shells which flew
over the heads of McDowell's men came past the church into Hildebrand's
ranks. Sherman tried to hold his position by the church. He considered
it to be of the utmost importance. He did not want to lose his camp. He
exhibited great bravery. His horse was shot, and he mounted another.
That also was killed, and he took a third, and, before night, lost his
fourth. He encouraged his men, not only by his words, but by his
reckless daring. Buckland's and McDowell's men recovered from the shock
they first received. They became bull-dogs. Their blood was up. As often
as the Rebels attempted to crowd McDowell back, they defeated the
attempt. The two brigades with Taylor's and Barrett's batteries held
their ground till after ten o'clock, and they would not have yielded
then had it not been for disaster down the line.
Hildebrand rallied his men. About one hundred joined the Eleventh
Illinois, of McClernand's division, and fought like tigers.
In the advance of Bragg's line, Gibson's brigade became separated from
Anderson and Pond, Gibson moving to the right towards Prentiss, and they
to the left towards Sherman. Several regiments of Polk's line
immediately moved into the gap. It was a reinforcement of the centre,
but it was also a movement which tended to disorganize the Rebel lines.
Gibson became separated from his division commands, and the regiments
from Polk's corps became disconnected from their brigades, but General
Bragg directed them to join General Hindman.
They moved on towards McClernand, who was changing front and getting
into position a half-mile in rear of Sherman. They were so far advanced
towards Pittsburg Landing, that Sherman saw he was in danger of being
cut off. He reluctantly gave the order to abandon his camp and take a
new position. He ordered the batteries to fall back to the Purdy and
Hamburg road. He saw Buckland and McDowell, and told them where to
rally. Captain Behr had been posted on the Purdy road with his battery,
and had had but little part in the fight. He was falling back, closely
followed by Pond.
"Come into position out there on the right," said Sherman, pointing to
the place where he wanted him to unlimber. There came a volley from the
woods. A shot struck the Captain from his horse. The drivers and gunners
became frightened, and rode off with the caissons, leaving five unspiked
guns to fall into the hands of the Rebels! Sherman and Taylor, and other
officers, by their coolness, bravery, and daring, saved Buckland and
McDowell's brigades from a panic; and thus, after four hours of hard
fighting, Sherman was obliged to leave his camp and fall back behind
McClernand, who now was having a fierce fight with the brigades which
had pushed in between Prentiss and Sherman.
The Rebels rejoiced over their success. Their loud hurrahs rose above
the din of battle. They rushed into the tents and helped themselves to
whatever they could lay their hands on, as had already been done in
Prentiss's camps. Officers and men in the Rebel ranks alike forgot all
discipline. They threw off their old gray rags, and appeared in blue
uniforms. They broke open the trunks of the officers, and rifled the
knapsacks of the soldiers. They seized the half-cooked breakfast, and
ate like half-starved wolves. They found bottles of whiskey in some of
the officers' quarters, and drank, danced, sung, hurrahed, and were
half-crazy with the excitement of their victory.
Having taken this look at matters in the vicinity of the church, let us
go towards the river, and see the other divisions.
It was about half past six o'clock in the morning when General Hurlburt
received notice from General Sherman that the Rebels were driving in his
pickets. A few minutes later he had word from Prentiss asking for
assistance.
He sent Veatch's brigade, which you remember consisted of the
Twenty-fifth Indiana, the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Forty-eighth
Illinois, to Sherman. The troops sprang into ranks as soon as the order
was issued, and were on the march in ten minutes.
Prentiss sent a second messenger, asking for immediate aid. Hurlburt in
person led his other two brigades, Williams's and Lauman's. He had
Mann's Ohio battery, commanded by Lieutenant Brotzman, Ross's battery,
from Michigan, and Meyer's Thirteenth Ohio battery. He marched out on
the Ridge road, and met Prentiss's troops, disorganized and broken, with
doleful stories of the loss of everything. Prentiss and other officers
were attempting to rally them.
Hurlburt formed in line of battle on the border of an old cotton-field
on the Hamburg road. There were some sheds, and a log-hut with a great
chimney built of mud and sticks, along the road. In front of the hut was
a peach-orchard. Mann's battery was placed near the northeast corner of
the field. Williams's brigade was placed on one side of the field, and
Lauman's on the other, which made the line nearly a right angle. Ross's
battery was posted on the right, and Meyer's on the left. This
disposition of his force enabled Hurlburt to concentrate his fire upon
the field and into the peach-orchard.
You see the position,--the long line of men in blue, in the edge of the
woods, sheltered in part by the giant oaks. You see the log-huts, the
mud chimney, the peach-trees in front, all aflame with pink blossoms.
The field is as smooth as a house floor. Here and there are handfuls of
cotton, the leavings of last year's crop. It is perhaps forty or fifty
rods across the field to the forest upon the other side. Hurlburt and
his officers are riding along the lines, cheering the men and giving
directions. The fugitives from Prentiss are hastening towards the
Landing. But a line of guards has been thrown out, and the men are
rallying behind Hurlburt. The men standing in line along that field know
that they are to fight a terrible battle. At first there is a little
wavering, but they gain confidence, load their guns, and wait for the
enemy.
Withers's division, which had pushed back Prentiss, moved upon
Hurlburt's right. Gage's and Girardey's batteries opened fire. The first
shot struck near Meyer's battery. The men never before had heard the
shriek of a Rebel shell. It was so sudden, unexpected, and terrifying,
that officers and men fled, leaving their cannon, caissons, horses, and
everything. Hurlburt saw no more of them during the day. Indignant at
the manifestation of cowardice, he rode down to Mann's battery, and
called for volunteers to work the abandoned guns; ten men responded to
the call. A few other volunteers were picked up, and although they knew
but little of artillery practice, took their places beside the guns and
opened fire. The horses with the caissons were dashing madly through the
forest, increasing the confusion, but they were caught and brought in.
You see that in battle men sometimes lose their presence of mind, and
act foolishly. It is quite likely, however, that the troops fought all
the more bravely for this display of cowardice. Many who were a little
nervous, who had a strange feeling at the heart, did not like the
exhibition, and resolved that they would not run.
At this time the fortunes of the Union army were dark. Prentiss had been
routed. His command was a mere rabble. Hildebrand's brigade of Sherman's
division was broken to pieces; there was not more than half a regiment
left. The other two brigades of Sherman's division by the church were
giving way. Half of Waterhouse's battery, and all but one of Behr's guns
were taken. Sherman and Prentiss had been driven from their camps. Four
of the six guns composing Meyer's battery could not be used for want of
men. The three regiments which McClernand had sent to Sherman were badly
cut to pieces. The entire front had been driven in. Johnston had gained
a mile of ground. He had accomplished a great deal with little loss.
General Grant heard the firing at Savannah, ten miles down the river. It
was so constant and heavy that he understood at once it was an attack.
He sent a messenger post haste to General Buell, whose advance was ten
miles east of Savannah, and then hastened to Pittsburg on a steamboat.
He arrived on the ground about nine o'clock. Up to that hour there was
no commander-in-chief, but each division commander gave such orders as
he thought best. There was but little unity of action. Each commander
was impressed with a sense of danger, and each was doing his best to
hold the enemy in check.
The wide gap between Prentiss and Sherman, and the quick routing of
Prentiss's regiments, enabled Hardee to push his middle brigades to the
centre of the Union army without much opposition. Both of Hardee's
flanks had been held back by the stout fight of Sherman on one side, the
weaker resistance of Prentiss on the other. This gradually made the
Rebel force into the form of a wedge, and at the moment when Hurlburt
was waiting for their advance, the point of the wedge had penetrated
beyond Hurlburt's right, but there it came against General W. H. L.
Wallace's division.
When Hurlburt notified Wallace that Prentiss was attacked, that noble
commander ordered his division under arms. You remember his position,
near Snake Creek, and nearer the Pittsburg Landing than any other
division. He at once moved in the direction of the firing, which brought
him west of Hurlburt's position.
You remember that General McClernand had sent three regiments to General
Sherman, and that they were obliged to change front. Having done that,
he moved his other two brigades, the first under the command of Colonel
Hare, including the Eighth and Eighteenth Illinois infantry and the
Eleventh and Thirteenth Iowa, with Dresser's battery, and the third
brigade with Schwartz's and McAllister's batteries. It was a complete
change of front. These movements of Wallace and McClernand were directly
against the two sides and the point of the wedge which Hardee was
driving. Wallace marched southwest, and McClernand swung round facing
southeast. They came up just in season to save Sherman from being cut
off and also to save Veatch's brigade of Hurlburt's division from being
overwhelmed.
McClernand's head-quarters were in an old cotton-field. The camps of his
regiments extended across the field and into the forest on both sides.
He established his line on the south side of the field in the edge of
the forest, determined to save his camp if possible. His men had seen
hard fighting at Fort Donelson, and so had General Wallace's men. They
were hardened to the scenes of battle, whereas Sherman's, Prentiss's,
and Hurlburt's men were having their first experience. Schwartz,
McAllister, and Dresser had confronted the Rebels at Donelson, and so
had Major Cavender with his eighteen pieces, commanded by Captains
Stone, Richardson, and Walker.
This is a long and intricate story, and I fear you will not be able to
understand it. The regiments at this hour were very much mixed up, and
as the battle continued they became more so. Later in the day there was
so much confusion that no correct account can ever be given of the
positions of the regiments. Thousands of you, I doubt not, had friends
in that battle, and you would like to know just where they stood. Let us
therefore walk the entire length of the line while the Rebels are
preparing for the second onset. Commencing on the extreme right, we find
Sherman reforming with his left flank a little in rear of McClernand's
right. There is McDowell's brigade on the right, the Sixth Iowa, Fourth
Illinois, and Forty-sixth Ohio. Buckland's brigade next, the
Forty-eighth, Seventieth, and Seventy-second Ohio. A few men of
Hildebrand's brigade, not five hundred in all, of the Fifty-third,
Fifty-seventh, and Seventy-sixth Ohio. Next the regiments of
McClernand's division, the Eleventh Iowa, Eleventh, Twentieth,
Forty-eighth, Forty-fifth, Seventeenth, Twenty-ninth, Forty-ninth,
Forty-third, Eighth, and Eighteenth Illinois. Next Wallace's division,
Seventh, Ninth, Twelfth, Fiftieth, and Fifty-second Illinois, the
Twelfth, Thirteenth Iowa, and the Twenty-fifth, Fifty-second, and
Fifty-sixth Indiana. I think that all of those regiments were there,
although it is possible that one or two of them had not arrived. These
are not all in the front line, but you see them in two lines. Some of
them lying down behind the ridges waiting the time when they can spring
up and confront the enemy.
Next in line you see Veatch's brigade of Hurlburt's division, the
Twenty-fifth Indiana, the Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Forty-sixth
Illinois; then Williams's brigade, the Third Iowa, the Twenty-eighth,
Thirty-second, and Forty-first Illinois, by the log-huts of the
cotton-field on the Hamburg road. Here are Cavender's guns, eighteen of
them. Next is Lauman's brigade,--not the one he commanded at Donelson in
the victorious charge, but one composed of the Thirty-first and
Forty-fourth Indiana, and the Seventeenth and Twenty-fifth Kentucky.
Behind Wallace and Hurlburt Prentiss is reforming his disorganized
regiments, the Twenty-first, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fifth Missouri,
Sixteenth and Eighteenth Wisconsin, and the Twelfth Michigan.
You remember that Stuart's brigade of Sherman's division was keeping
watch on the Hamburg road at the Lick Creek crossing, towards the river
from Prentiss. When Prentiss was attacked, he sent word to Stuart, who
ordered his brigade under arms at once. He waited for orders. He saw
after a while the Rebel bayonets gleaming through the woods between
himself and Prentiss. He placed the Seventy-first Ohio on the right, the
Fifty-fifth Illinois in the centre, and the Fifty-fourth on the left.
These three regiments compose his brigade, and complete the list of
those engaged in the fight on Sunday.
When the fight began in the morning, Stuart sent two companies across
the creek to act as skirmishers, but before they could scale the high
bluffs upon the south side, Statham's and Bowen's brigades, of
Breckenridge's reserves, had possession of the ground, and they
returned. Statham's batteries opened upon Stuart's camp. Breckenridge
had moved round from his position in rear, and now formed the extreme
right of Johnston. There were eight regiments and a battery in front of
Stuart. The battery forced the Seventy-first Ohio from its position. It
retired to the top of the ridge behind its camp-ground, which Stuart
could have held against a superior force, had he not been outflanked.
The Seventy-first, without orders, abandoned the position, retreated
towards the Landing, and Stuart saw no more of them during the day.
He took a new position, with his two regiments, on the crest of the
hill. East of him was a ravine. Breckenridge sent a body of cavalry and
infantry across the creek to creep up this ravine, get in rear of
Stuart's left flank, and with the masses hurrying past his right cut him
off. Stuart determined to make a gallant resistance. He sent four
companies of the Fifty-fourth Ohio, who took their position at the head
of the ravine or gully which makes up from the creek towards the north.
They crept into the thick bushes, hid behind the trees, and commenced a
galling fire, forcing the cavalry back and stopping the advance of the
infantry. The remainder of his force kept Statham back on the front. His
line of fire was across an open field, and as often as Statham attempted
to cross it, he was sent back by the well-directed volleys. Stuart
received assurances from General McArthur, commanding one of Wallace's
brigades, that he should be supported, but the supports could not be
spared from the centre. Stuart maintained his position more than two
hours, till his cartridge-boxes were emptied. When his ammunition
failed, Statham and Bowen made another rush upon his left, and he saw
that he must retreat or be taken prisoner. He fell back to Hurlburt's
line, and formed the remnant of his brigade on the left, thus completing
the line of battle which was established at ten o'clock.
FROM TEN O'CLOCK TILL FOUR.
Generals Bragg and Polk directed the attack on McClernand and Wallace.
Pond's brigade was northwest of the church, Anderson's by the church,
Cleburn's and Wood's east of it. Hindman's and the regiments of Polk's
corps which had broken off from their brigades were in front of
Wallace's right. These regiments belonged to Cheatham's division. The
whole of his division was in front of Wallace.
Russell, Stewart, and Gibson were in front of Wallace's left. Gladden,
Chalmers, and Jackson were on Hurlburt's right, while Breckenridge,
having driven back Stuart, came up on his left.
The Rebels, confident of final victory, came up with great bravery, and
commenced attacking McClernand, but they were confronted by men equally
brave. Pond and Anderson charged upon the regiments on McClernand's
right, but the charge was broken by the quick volleys of the Eleventh,
Twentieth, and Forty-eighth Illinois. Cleburn and Wood rushed upon the
Forty-fifth, Seventeenth, and Forty-ninth, which were in the centre of
the division, but were repulsed. Then they swung against the Eleventh
and Eighteenth, in front of McClernand's head-quarters, but could not
break the line. For a half-hour more, they stood and fired at long
musket range. Dresser, McAllister, and Schwartz gave their batteries
full play, but were answered by the batteries planted around the church,
on the ground from which Sherman had been driven. Bragg advanced his men
to short musket range, fifteen to twenty rods distant. Trees were broken
off by the cannon-shot, splintered by the shells; branches were wrenched
from the trunks, the hazel-twigs were cut by the storm of leaden hail.
Many trees were struck fifty, sixty, and a hundred times. Officers and
men fell on both sides very fast. Polk's brigades came up, and the
united forces rushed upon the batteries. There was a desperate struggle.
The horses were shot,--Schwartz lost sixteen, Dresser eighteen, and
McAllister thirty. The guns were seized,--Schwartz lost three,
McAllister two, and Dresser three. The infantry could not hold their
ground. They fell back, took a new position, and made another effort to
save their camp.
The woods rang with the hurrahs of the Rebels. The ground was thick with
their dead and wounded, but they were winning. They had the largest
army, and success stimulated them to make another attack. Bragg reformed
his columns.
McClernand's second line of defence was near his camp. His men fought
bravely to save it. Polk's brigades moved to the front, and charged upon
the line, but they were checked. McClernand charged upon them, and in
turn was repulsed. So the contest went on hour after hour.
Buckland and McDowell, of Sherman's command, were too much exhausted and
disorganized by their long contest in the morning to take much part in
this fight. They stood as reserves. Barrett and Taylor had used all
their ammunition, and could not aid.
McClernand's right was unprotected. Bragg saw it, and moved round
Anderson's, Pond's, and a portion of Stewart's brigades. There was a
short struggle, and then the troops gave way. The men ran in confusion
across the field swept by the Rebel artillery. The pursuers, with
exultant cheers, followed, no longer in order, but each Rebel soldier
running for the plunder in the tents. The contest was prolonged a little
on the left, but the camp was in the hands of the Rebels, and McClernand
and Sherman again fell back towards Wallace's camp.
Wallace was already engaged. The tide which had surged against Sherman
and McClernand now came with increased force against his division.
Beauregard aimed for the Landing, to seize the transports, using his
force as a wedge to split the Union army off from the river. He might
have deflected his force to Grant's right, and avoided what, as you will
presently see, prevented him from accomplishing his object; but having
been thus far successful in his plan, he continued the direct advance.
General Wallace was a very brave man. He was cool, had great presence of
mind, and possessed the rare qualification of making his soldiers feel
his presence. He could bring order out of confusion, and by a word, a
look, or an act inspire his men. He posted Cavender's three batteries in
commanding positions on a ridge, and kept his infantry well under cover
behind the ridge. Cavender's men had fought under the brave General Lyon
at Wilson's Creek in Missouri, and had been in half a dozen battles. The
screaming of the shells was music to them.
From eleven till four o'clock the battle raged in front of Wallace. The
men who had fought their first battle so determinedly at Donelson were
not to be driven now.
Four times Hardee, Bragg, and Cheatham rushed upon Wallace's line, but
were in each instance repulsed. Twice Wallace followed them as they
retired after their ineffectual attempts to crush him, but he had not
sufficient power to break their triple ranks. He could hold his ground,
but he could not push the superior force. His coolness, endurance,
bravery, stubbornness, his quick perception of all that was taking
place, his power over his men, to make each man a hero, did much towards
saving the army on that disastrous day.
General Bragg says: "Hindman's command was gallantly led to the attack,
but recoiled under a murderous fire. The noble and gallant leader
(Hindman) fell severely wounded. The command returned to its work, but
was unequal to the heavy task. I brought up Gibson's brigade, and threw
them forward to attack the same point. A very heavy fire soon opened,
and after a short conflict this command fell back in considerable
disorder. Rallying the different regiments by my staff officers and
escort, they were twice more moved to the attack only to be driven
back."[9]
[Footnote 9: Bragg's Report.]
In the morning, when the Rebels commenced the attack, you remember that
Breckenridge, with the Rebel reserves, was in the rear; that he moved
east, and came down towards the river in front of Stuart's brigade.
General Johnston and staff were upon the hills which border the creek,
examining the ground in front of Stuart and Hurlburt. Ross, Mann, and
Walker were throwing shells across the creek.
General Breckenridge rode up to General Johnston and conversed with him.
"I will lead your men into the fight to-day, for I intend to show these
Tennesseeans and Kentuckians that I am no coward," said Johnston to
Breckenridge.[10]
[Footnote 10: Stevenson.]
The people of the Southwest thought he was a coward, because he had
abandoned Nashville without a fight.
Breckenridge brought up Statham's and Bowen's brigades against Hurlburt.
He formed his line in the edge of the woods on the opposite side of the
field. After an artillery fire of an hour, he moved into the centre of
the field, rushed through the peach-orchard, and came close to
Hurlburt's line by the log-cabin. But the field was fenced with fire.
There was constant flashing from the muskets, with broad sheets of flame
from the artillery. The Rebels were repulsed with shattered ranks.
Breckenridge sent his special aid to General Johnston for
instructions.[11] As the aid rode up, a shell exploded above the General
and his staff. A fragment cut through General Johnston's right thigh,
severing an artery. He was taken from his horse, and died on the field
at half past two o'clock.
[Footnote 11: Stevenson.]
General Beauregard assumed command, and gave orders to keep General
Johnston's death a secret, that the troops might not be discouraged.
Three times Breckenridge attempted to force Hurlburt back by attacking
him in front, but as often as he advanced he was driven back. It was sad
to see the wounded drag themselves back to the woods, to escape the
storm, more terrible than the blast of the simoom, sweeping over the
field. Hurlburt's regiments fired away all their ammunition, and
Prentiss who had rallied his men, advanced to the front while the
cartridge-boxes were refilled.
While this was doing, General Bragg gave up the command of his line in
front of Wallace to another officer and rode down towards the river in
front of Hurlburt and Prentiss. He says:--
"There I found a strong force, consisting of three parts without a
common head; being General Breckenridge with his reserve division
pressing the enemy; Brigadier-General Withers with his division
utterly exhausted, and taking a temporary rest; and Major-General
Cheatham's division of Major-General Polk's command to their left and
rear. The troops were soon put in motion again, responding with great
alacrity to the command, 'Forward!'"[12]
[Footnote 12: Bragg's Report.]
Just at this moment General Wallace, on the right, was mortally wounded.
It was like taking away half the strength of his division. The men lost
heart in a moment. The power which had inspired them was gone. The brave
man was carried to the rear, followed by his division. The giving way of
this division, and the falling back of Prentiss before the masses
flanking the extreme left, was most disastrous. Prentiss was surrounded
and taken prisoner with the remnant of his division, and Hurlburt's camp
fell into the hands of the Rebels.
Of this movement General Bragg says: "The enemy were driven headlong
from every position, and thrown in confused masses upon the river-bank,
behind his heavy artillery and under cover of his gunboats at the
Landing. He had left nearly all his light artillery in our hands, and
some three thousand or more prisoners, who were cut off from their
retreat by the closing in of our troops on the left under Major-General
Polk, with a portion of his reserve corps, and Brigadier-General
Ruggles, with Anderson's and Pond's brigades of his division."[13]
[Footnote 13: Bragg's Report.]
The woods rang with the exultant shouts of the Rebels, as Prentiss and
his men were marched towards Corinth. They had possession of the camps
of all the divisions except Wallace's. Beauregard had redeemed his
promise. They could sleep in the enemy's camps.
SUNDAY EVENING.
Look at the situation of General Grant's army. It is crowded back almost
to the Landing. It is not more than a mile from the river to the extreme
right, where Sherman and McClernand are trying to rally their
disorganized divisions. All is confusion. Half of the artillery is lost.
Many of the guns remaining are disabled. Some that are good are deserted
by the artillerymen. There is a stream of fugitives to the Landing, who
are thinking only how to escape. There are thousands on the river-bank,
crowding upon the transports. They have woeful stories. Instead of being
in their places, and standing their ground like men, they have deserted
their brave comrades, and left them to be overwhelmed by the superior
force of the enemy.
As you look at the position of the army and the condition of the troops
at this hour, just before sunset, there is not much to hope for. But
there are some men who have not lost heart. "We shall hold them yet,"
says General Grant.
An officer with gold-lace bands upon his coat-sleeve, and a gold band on
his cap, walks up-hill from the Landing. It is an officer of the gunboat
Tyler, commanded by Captain Gwin, who thinks he can be of some service.
Shot and shells from the Rebel batteries have been falling in the river,
and he would like to toss some into the woods.
"Tell Captain Gwin to use his own discretion and judgment," is the
reply.
The officer hastens back to the Tyler. The Lexington is by her side. The
men spring to the guns, and the shells go tearing up the ravine,
exploding in the Rebel ranks, now massed for the last grand assault. All
day long the men of the gunboats have heard the roar of the conflict
coming nearer and nearer, and have had no opportunity to take a part,
but now their time has come. The vessels sit gracefully upon the placid
river. They cover themselves with white clouds, and the deep-mouthed
cannon bellow their loudest thunders, which roll miles away along the
winding stream. It is sweet music to those disheartened men forming to
resist the last advance of the Rebels, now almost within reach of the
coveted prize.
Colonel Webster, General Grant's chief of staff, an engineer and
artillerist, with a quick eye, has selected a line of defence. There is
a deep ravine just above Pittsburg Landing, which extends northwest half
a mile. There are five heavy siege-guns, three thirty-two-pounders, and
two eight-inch howitzers on the top of the bluff by the Landing. They
have been standing there a week, but there are no artillerists to man
them. Volunteers are called for. Dr. Cornyn, Surgeon of the First
Missouri Artillery, offers his services. Artillerists who have lost
their guns are collected. Round shot and shell are carried up from the
boats. Fugitives who have lost their regiments are put to work.
Pork-barrels are rolled up and placed in a line. Men go to work with
spades, and throw up a rude embankment. The heavy guns are wheeled into
position to sweep the ravine and all the ground beyond. Everything is
done quickly. There is no time for delay. Men work as never before.
Unless they can check the enemy, all is lost. Energy, activity,
determination, endurance, and bravery must be concentrated into this
last effort.
[Illustration: THE FIGHT AT THE RAVINE.
1 Union batteries.
2 Rebel batteries.
3 Ravine.
4 Gunboats.
5 Transports.]
Commencing nearest the river, on the ridge of the ravine, you see two of
McAllister's twenty-four-pounders, next four of Captain Stone's ten
pounders, then Captain Walker with one twenty-pounder, then Captain
Silversparre with four twenty-pounder Parrott guns, which throw rifled
projectiles, then two twenty-pound howitzers, which throw grape and
canister. Then you come to the road which leads up to Shiloh church.
There you see six brass field-pieces; then Captain Richardson's battery
of four twenty-pounder Parrott guns; then a six-pounder and two
twelve-pound howitzers of Captain Powell's battery; then the siege-guns,
under Surgeon Cornyn and Captain Madison; then two ten-pounders, under
Lieutenant Edwards, and two more under Lieutenant Timony. There are more
guns beyond,--Taylor's, Willard's, and what is left of Schwartz's
battery, and Mann's, Dresser's, and Ross's,--about sixty guns in all.
The broken regiments are standing or lying down. The line, instead of
being four miles long, as it was in the morning, is not more than a mile
in length now. The regiments are all mixed up. There are men from a
dozen in one, but they can fight notwithstanding that.
The Rebel commanders concentrate all their forces near the river, to
charge through the ravine, scale the other side, rush down the road and
capture the steamboats. They plant their batteries along the bank,
bringing up all their guns, to cut their way by shot and shell. If they
can but gain a foothold on the other side, the day is theirs. The Union
army will be annihilated, Tennessee redeemed. Buell will be captured or
pushed back to the Ohio River. The failing fortunes of the Confederacy
will revive. Recognition by foreign nations will be secured. How
momentous the hour!
Beauregard's troops were badly cut to pieces, and very much
disorganized. The Second Texas, which had advanced through the
peach-orchard, was all gone, and was not reorganized during the fight.
Colonel Moore, commanding a brigade, says: "So unexpected was the shock,
that the whole line gave way from right to left in utter confusion. The
regiments became so scattered and mixed that all efforts to reform them
became fruitless."[14]
[Footnote 14: Colonel Moore's Report.]
Chalmers's brigade was on the extreme right. What was left of Jackson's
came next. Breckenridge, with his shattered brigades, was behind
Chalmers. Trabue, commanding a brigade of Kentuckians, was comparatively
fresh. Withers's, Cheatham's, and Ruggles's divisions were at the head
of the ravine. Gibson, who had been almost annihilated, was there.
Stewart, Anderson, Stephens, and Pond were on the ground from which
Wallace had been driven. As the brigades filed past Beauregard, he said
to them, "Forward, boys, and drive them into the Tennessee."[15]
[Footnote 15: Ruggles's Report.]
The Rebel cannon open. A sulphurous cloud borders the bank. The wild
uproar begins again. Opposite, another cloud rolls upward. There are
weird shriekings across the chasm, fierce howlings from things unseen.
Great oaks are torn asunder, broken, shattered, splintered. Cannon are
overturned by invisible bolts. There are explosions in the earth and in
the air. Men, horses, wagons, are lifted up, thrown down, torn to
pieces, dashed against the trees. Commands are cut short; for while the
words are on the lips the tongue ceases to articulate, the muscles
relax, and the heart stops its beating,--all the springs of life broken
in an instant.
Wilder, deeper, louder the uproar. Great shells from the gunboats fly up
the ravine. The gunners aim at the cloud along the southern bank. They
rake the Rebel lines, while the artillery massed in front cuts them
through and through.
Bragg orders an advance. The brigades enter the ravine, sheltered in
front by the tall trees above and the tangled undergrowth beneath. They
push towards the northern slope.
"Grape and canister now!"
"Give them double charges!"
"Lower your guns!"
"Quick! Fire!"
The words run along the line. Moments are ages now. Seconds are years.
How fast men live when everything is at stake! Ah! but how fast they die
down in that ravine! Up, down, across, through, over it, drive the
withering blasts, cutting, tearing, sweeping through the column, which
shakes, wavers, totters, crumbles, disappears.
General Chalmers says: "We received orders from General Bragg to drive
the enemy into the river. My brigade, together with General Jackson's
brigade, filed to the right, formed facing the river, and endeavored to
press forward to the water's edge; but in attempting to mount the last
ridge, we were met by a fire from a whole line of batteries, protected
by infantry and assisted by shells from the gunboats. Our men struggled
vainly to ascend the hill, which was very steep, making charge after
charge without success; but continued the fight till night closed
hostilities."[16]
[Footnote 16: Chalmers's Report.]
Says Colonel Fagan, of the First Arkansas, of Gibson's brigade:--
"Three different times did we go into that 'Valley of Death,' and as
often were forced back by overwhelming numbers, intrenched in a strong
position. That all was done that could possibly be done, the heaps of
killed and wounded left there give ample evidence."[17]
[Footnote 17: Colonel Fagan's Report.]
Colonel Allen, of the Fourth Louisiana, says:--
"A murderous fire was poured into us from the masked batteries of grape
and canister, and also from the rifle-pits. The regiment retired, formed
again, and again charged. There fell many of my bravest and best men, in
the thick brushwood, without ever seeing the enemy."[18]
[Footnote 18: Colonel Allen's Report.]
It is sunset. The day has gone. It has been a wild, fierce, disastrous
conflict. Beauregard has pushed steadily on towards the Landing. He is
within musket-shot of the steamers, of the prize he so much covets. He
has possession of all but one of the division camps. He can keep his
promise made to his soldiers; they can sleep in the camps of the Union
army. This is his first serious check. He has lost many men. His
commander-in-chief is killed, but he is confident he can finish in the
morning the work which has gone on so auspiciously, for Buell has not
arrived.
He has done a good day's work. His men have fought well, but they are
exhausted. Tomorrow morning he will finish General Grant. Thus he
reasons.[19]
[Footnote 19: Beauregard's Report.]
General Grant was right in his calculations. The Rebels have been
checked at last. At sunset they who stand upon the hill by the Landing
discover on the opposite bank men running up the road, panting for
breath. Above them waves the Stars and Stripes. There is a buzz, a
commotion, among the thousands by the river-side.
"It is Buell's advance!"
"Hurrah! hurrah! hurrah!"
The shouts ring through the forest. The wounded lift their weary heads,
behold the advancing line, and weep tears of joy. The steamers cast off
their fastenings. The great wheels plash the gurgling water. They move
to the other side. The panting soldiers of the army of the Ohio rush on
board. The steamer settles to the guards with her precious cargo of
human life; recrosses the river in safety. The line of blue winds up the
bank. It is Nelson's division. McCook's and Crittenden's divisions are
at Savannah. Lewis Wallace's division from Crump's Landing is filing in
upon the right, in front of Sherman and McClernand. There will be four
fresh divisions on Monday morning. The army is safe. Buell will not be
pushed back to the Ohio. Recognition will not come from France and
England in consequence of the great Rebel victory at Shiloh.
Through the night the shells from the gunboats crashed along the Rebel
lines. So destructive was the fire, that Beauregard was obliged to fall
back from the position he had won by such a sacrifice of life. There was
activity at the Landing. The steamers went to Savannah, took on board
McCook's and Crittenden's divisions of Buell's army, and transported
them to Pittsburg. Few words were spoken as they marched up the hill in
the darkness, with the thousands of wounded on either hand, but there
were many silent thanksgivings that they had come. The wearied soldiers
lay down in battle line to broken sleep, with their loaded guns beside
them. The sentinels stood, like statues, in silence on the borders of
that valley of death, watching and waiting for the morning.
The battle-cloud hung like a pall above the forest. The gloom and
darkness deepened. The stars, which had looked calmly down from the
depths of heaven, withdrew from the scene. A horrible scene! for the
exploding shells had set the forest on fire. The flames consumed the
withered leaves and twigs of the thickets, and crept up to the helpless
wounded, to friend and foe alike. There was no hand but God's to save
them. He heard their cries and groans. The rain came, extinguishing the
flames. It drenched the men in arms, waiting for daybreak to come to
renew the strife, but there were hundreds of wounded, parched with
fever, restless with pain, who thanked God for the rain.
MONDAY.
Beauregard laid his plans to begin the attack at daybreak. Grant and
Buell resolved to do the same,--not to stand upon the defensive, but to
astonish Beauregard by advancing. Nelson's division was placed on the
left, nearest the river, Crittenden's next, McCook's beyond, and Lewis
Wallace on the extreme right,--all fresh troops,--with Grant's other
divisions, which had made such a stubborn resistance, in reserve.
In General Nelson's division, you see nearest the river Colonel Ammen's
brigade, consisting of the Thirty-sixth Indiana, Sixth and Twenty-fourth
Ohio; next, Colonel Bruer's brigade, First, Second, and Twentieth
Kentucky; next, Colonel Hazen's brigade, Ninth Indiana, Sixth Kentucky,
and Forty-first Ohio. Colonel Ammen's brigade arrived in season to take
part in the contest at the ravine on Sunday evening.
General Crittenden's division had two brigades: General Boyle's and
Colonel W. L. Smith's. General Boyle had the Nineteenth and Fifty-ninth
Ohio, and Ninth and Thirteenth Kentucky. Colonel Smith's was composed of
the Thirteenth Ohio, and Eleventh and Twenty-sixth Kentucky, with
Mendenhall's battery, belonging to the United States Regular Army, and
Bartlett's Ohio battery.
General McCook's division had three brigades. The first was commanded by
General Rousseau, consisting of the First Ohio, Sixth Indiana, Third
Kentucky, and battalions of the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Nineteenth
Regular Infantry. The second brigade was commanded by Brigadier-General
Gibson, and consisted of the Thirty-second and Thirty-ninth Indiana, and
Forty-ninth Ohio. The third brigade was commanded by Colonel Kirk, and
consisted of the Thirty-fourth Illinois, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth
Indiana, and Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania.
General Lewis Wallace's division, which had been reorganized after the
battle of Fort Donelson, now consisted of three brigades. The first was
commanded by Colonel Morgan L. Smith, and consisted of the Eighth
Missouri, Eleventh and Twenty-fourth Indiana, and Thurber's Missouri
battery. The second brigade was commanded by Colonel Thayer, and
contained the same regiments that checked the Rebels at the brook west
of Fort Donelson,--the First Nebraska, Twenty-third and Sixty-eighth
Ohio, with Thompson's Indiana battery. The third brigade was commanded
by Colonel Whittlesey, and was composed of the Twentieth, Fifty-sixth,
Seventy-sixth, and Seventy-eighth Ohio.
Two brigades of General Wood's division arrived during the day, but not
in season to take part in the battle.
Beauregard's brigades were scattered during the night. They had retired
in confusion before the terrible fire at the ravine from the gunboats.
Officers were hunting for their troops, and soldiers were searching for
their regiments, through the night. The work of reorganizing was going
on when the pickets at daylight were driven in by the advance of the
Union line.
Beauregard, Bragg, Hardee, and Polk all slept near the church. There was
no regularity of divisions, brigades, or regiments. Ruggles was west of
the church with two of his brigades. Trabue's brigade of Breckenridge's
reserves was there. Breckenridge, with his other brigades, or what was
left of them, was east of the church, also the shattered fragments of
Withers's division. Gladden's brigade had crumbled to pieces, and
Colonel Deas, commanding it, was obliged to pick up stragglers of all
regiments. Russell and Stewart were near Prentiss's camp. Cheatham was
in the vicinity, but his regiments were dwindled to companies, and
scattered over all the ground.
Beauregard had established a strong rear-guard, and had issued orders to
shoot all stragglers. The order was rigidly enforced, and the runaways
were brought back and placed in line. Although exhausted, disorganized,
and checked, the Rebels had not lost heart. They were confident of
victory, and at once rallied when they found the Union army was
advancing.
Look once more at the position of the divisions. Nelson is on the ground
over which Stuart and Hurlburt retreated. Crittenden is where Prentiss
was captured, McCook where McClernand made his desperate stand, and
Lewis Wallace where Sherman's line gave way.
The gunboats, by their constant fire during the night, had compelled the
Rebels to fall back in front of Nelson. It was a little after five
o'clock when Nelson threw forward his skirmishers, and advanced his
line. He came upon the Rebels half-way out to Lick Creek, near the
peach-orchard. The fight commenced furiously. Beauregard was marching
brigades from his left, and placing them in position for a concentrated
attack to gain the Landing. General Crittenden had not advanced, and
Nelson was assailed by a superior force. He held his ground an hour, but
he had no battery. He had been compelled to leave it at Savannah. He
sent an aid to General Buell requesting artillery. Mendenhall was sent.
He arrived just in time to save the brigade from an overwhelming onset.
The Rebels were advancing when he unlimbered his guns, but his quick
discharges of grape at short range threw them into confusion.
It astonished General Beauregard. He had not expected it. He was to
attack and annihilate Grant, not be attacked and driven.[20] He ordered
up fresh troops from his reserves, and the contest raged with increased
fury.
[Footnote 20: Beauregard's Report.]
Nelson, seeing the effect of Mendenhall's fire, threw Hazen's brigade
forward. It came upon the battery which had been cutting them to pieces.
With a cheer they sprang upon the guns, seized them, commenced turning
them upon the fleeing enemy. The Rebel line rallied and came back,
followed by fresh troops. There was a short, severe struggle, and Hazen
was forced to leave the pieces and fall back. Then the thunders rolled
again. The woods were sheets of flame.[21] The Rebels brought up more of
their reserves, and forced Nelson to yield his position. He fell back a
short distance, and again came into position. He was a stubborn man,--a
Kentuckian, a sailor, who had been round the world. His discipline was
severe. His men had been well drilled, and were as stubborn as their
leader.
[Footnote 21: Nelson's Report.]
"Send me another battery, quick!" was his request, made to General
Buell.
Tirrell's battery, which had just landed from a steamer, went up the
hill, through the woods, over stumps and trees, the horses leaping as if
they had caught the enthusiasm of the commander of the battery. Captain
Tirrell had a quick eye.
"Into position there. Lively, men! Caissons to the rear!" were his words
of command. The gunners sprang from the carriages to the ground. The
caissons wheeled, bringing the heads of the horses towards the Landing,
trotted off eight or ten rods and took position sheltered by a ridge of
land. Captain Tirrell rode from gun to gun.
"Fire with shell, two-second fuses," he said to the lieutenants
commanding his two ten-pounder Parrott guns.
"Grape and canister," he said to the officers commanding the four brass
twelve-pounders. Its fire was terrific. Wherever his guns were turned
there was silence along the Rebel lines. Their musketry ceased. Their
columns staggered back. All the while Mendenhall was pounding them. The
Nineteenth Ohio, from Crittenden's division, came down upon the run,
joined the brigade, and the contest went on again. The Rebels, instead
of advancing, began to lose the ground they had already won.
Crittenden and McCook advanced a little later. They came upon the enemy,
which had quiet possession of McClernand's and Sherman's camps.
Beauregard's head-quarters were there. The Rebels, finding themselves
assailed, made a desperate effort to drive back the advancing columns.
Rousseau advanced across the open field, over the ground so hotly
contested by McClernand the day before. This movement made a gap between
McCook and Crittenden. Beauregard saw it, threw Cheatham and Withers
into the open space. They swung round square against Rousseau's left,
pouring in a volley which staggered the advancing regiments. The
Thirty-second Indiana regiment, Colonel Willich commanding, was on the
extreme right of McCook's division. They had been in battle before, and
were ordered across to meet the enemy. You see them fly through the
woods in rear of Rousseau's brigade. They are upon the run. They halt,
dress their ranks as if upon parade, and charge upon the Rebels. Colonel
Stambough's Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania follows. Then all of Kirk's
brigade. It is a change of position and a change of front, admirably
executed, just at the right time, for Rousseau is out of ammunition, and
is obliged to fall back. McCook's third brigade, General Gibson, comes
up. Rousseau is ready again, and at eleven o'clock you see every
available man of that division contending for the ground around the
church. Meanwhile Wallace is moving over the ground on the extreme
right, where Sherman fought so bravely. Sherman, Hurlburt, and the
shattered regiments of W. H. L. Wallace's division, now commanded by
McArthur, follow in reserve. Driven back by Nelson, the Rebel forces
concentrate once more around the church for a final struggle. Wallace
watches his opportunities. He gains a ridge. His men drop upon the
ground, deliver volley after volley, rise, rush nearer to the enemy,
drop once more, while the grape and canister sweep over them. Thus they
come to close quarters, and then regiment after regiment rises, and
delivers its fire. It is like the broadsides of a man-of-war.
The time had come for a general advance. Nelson, Crittenden, McCook,
Wallace, almost simultaneously charged upon the enemy. It was too
powerful to be resisted. The Rebels gave way, retreated from the camps
which they had occupied a single night, fled past the church, across the
brook, up through the old cotton-field on the south side, to the shelter
of the forest on the top of the ridge beyond. The battle was lost to
them. Exultant cheers rang through the forest for the victory won.
If I were to go through all the details, as I might, and write how
Crittenden's brigades pressed on, and captured Rebel batteries; how the
Rebels tried to overwhelm him; how the tide of battle surged from hill
to hill; how the Rebels tried to cut McCook to pieces; how Wallace's
division flanked the enemy at Owl Creek; how Rousseau's brigade fought
in front of McClernand's camp; how the Fifth Kentucky charged upon a
battery, and captured two guns which were cutting them up with grape and
canister, and four more which were disabled and could not be dragged off
by the enemy; how Colonel Willich, commanding the Thirty-second Indiana,
finding some of his men were getting excited, stopped firing, and
drilled them, ordering, presenting, and supporting arms, with the balls
whistling through his ranks; how the men became cool and steady, and
went in upon a charge at last with a wild hurrah, and a plunge of the
bayonet that forced the Rebels to give up McClernand's camp; how Colonel
Ammen coolly husked ears of corn for his horse, while watching the
fight, with the shells falling all around him; how Colonel Kirk seized a
flag and bore it in advance of his brigade; how Color-Sergeant William
Ferguson of the Thirteenth Missouri was shot down, how Sergeant Beem of
Company C seized the flag before it touched the ground, and advanced it
still farther; how Beauregard was riding madly along the lines by the
church, trying to rally his men, when Thurber's battery opened, and
broke them up again; how, at noon, he saw it was no use; how he drew off
his men, burned his own camp, and went back to Corinth, defeated, his
troops disheartened, leaving his killed and hundreds of his wounded on
the field; how the Union army recovered all the cannon lost on
Sunday;--if I were to write it all out, I should have no room to tell
you what Commodore Foote was doing all this time on the Mississippi.
It was a terrible fight. The loss on each side was nearly equal,--about
thirteen thousand killed, wounded, and missing, or twenty-six thousand
in all.
I had a friend killed in the fight on Sunday,--Captain Carson,
commanding General Grant's scouts. He was tall and slim, and had
sparkling black eyes. He had travelled all over Missouri, Kentucky, and
Tennessee, had often been in the Rebel camps. He was brave, almost
fearless, and very adroit. He said to a friend, when the battle began in
the morning, that he should not live through the day. But he was very
active, riding recklessly through showers of bullets. It was just at
sunset when he rode up to General Grant with a despatch from General
Buell. He dismounted, and sat down upon a log to rest, but the next
moment his head was carried away by a cannon-ball. He performed his
duties faithfully, and gave his life willingly to his country.
You have seen how the army was surprised, how desperately it fought, how
the battle was almost lost, how the gunboats beat back the exultant
Rebels, how the victory was won. Beauregard was completely defeated; but
he telegraphed to Jefferson Davis that he had won a great victory. This
is what he telegraphed--
"CORINTH, April 8th, 1862.
"TO THE SECRETARY OF WAR, RICHMOND:--
"We have gained a great and glorious victory. Eight to ten thousand
prisoners and thirty-six pieces of cannon. Buell reinforced Grant,
and we retired to our intrenchments at Corinth, which we can hold.
Loss heavy on both sides.
"BEAUREGARD."
You see that, having forsworn himself to his country, he did not
hesitate to send a false despatch, to mislead the Southern people and
cover up his mortifying defeat.
The Rebel newspapers believed Beauregard's report. One began its account
thus:--
"Glory! glory! glory! victory! victory! I write from Yankee
papers. Of all the victories that have ever been on record,
ours is the most complete. Bull Run was nothing in comparison
to our victory at Shiloh. General Buell is killed, General
Grant wounded and taken prisoner. Soon we will prove too much
for them, and they will be compelled to let us alone. Our
brave boys have driven them to the river, and compelled them
to flee to their gunboats. The day is ours."[22]
[Footnote 22: Captain Geer.]
The people of the South believed all this; but when the truth was known
their hopes went down lower than ever, for they saw it was a disastrous
defeat.
On the Sabbath after the battle, the chaplains of the regiments had
religious exercises. How different the scene! Instead of the cannonade,
there were prayers to God. Instead of the musketry, there were songs of
praise. There were tears shed for those who had fallen, but there were
devout thanksgivings that they had given their lives so freely for their
country and for the victory they had achieved by their sacrifice.
One of the chaplains, in conducting the service, read a hymn,
commencing:
"Look down, O Lord, O Lord forgive;
Let a repenting rebel live."
But he was suddenly interrupted by a patriotic soldier, who cried, "No
sir, not unless they lay down their arms, every one of them."
He thought the chaplain had reference to the Rebels who had been
defeated.
After the battle, a great many men and women visited the ground,
searching for the bodies of friends who had fallen. Lieutenant Pfieff,
an officer of an Illinois regiment, was killed, and his wife came to
obtain his body. No one knew where he was buried. The poor woman
wandered through the forest, examining all the graves. Suddenly a dog,
poor and emaciated, bounded towards her, his eyes sparkling with
pleasure, and barking his joy to see his mistress. When her husband went
to the army, the dog followed him, and was with him through the battle,
watched over his dead body through the terrible contest, and after he
was buried, remained day and night a mourner! He led his mistress to the
spot. The body was disinterred. The two sorrowful ones, the devoted wife
and the faithful brute, watched beside the precious dust till it was
laid in its final resting-place beneath the prairie-flowers.