Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862

The Battle of Shiloh, fought April 6-7, 1862, was a two-day engagement that altered the course of the American Civil War. The Union victory elevated Ulysses S. Grant to national prominence, resulted in the death of Confederate commander Albert S. Johnston, and demonstrated that the war would not be brief. The battle emerged from Union advances in winter 1861-1862 that secured Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. These victories collapsed Johnston's defensive line in Kentucky, forcing him to retreat to northern Mississippi. Johnston concentrated Southern forces at Corinth, a railroad hub south of the Tennessee border, planning to attack Grant's Army of the Tennessee before it could unite with General Don C. Buell's approaching force. On April 6, Johnston's assault struck Federal camps at Pittsburg Landing, driving Union forces back toward the Tennessee River. Johnston's death in the Peach Orchard, combined with Federal resistance and Grant's resolve, prevented the Union army's destruction. Buell's arrival that night shifted momentum. On April 7, Grant attacked and pushed Confederate forces from the field. The battle produced nearly 24,000 casualties. Written in 1966 by O. Edward Cunningham as a Ph.D. dissertation, this manuscript remained unpublished for decades. Shiloh experts and park rangers regard it as the best examination of the battle. Historians Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith have now edited and annotated the work with maps, order of battle, and casualty tables.