Shiloh - which ironically means
"place of peace," was the site 
of one of the blodiest battles 
in the western theater of the 
American Civil War.  On April 
6th, 1862, the Confederate Army 
of the Mississippi would go on 
the offensive.

The Confederates were lead by 
Johnston, and was headquarterd 
in Corinth, Mississippi.  Two 
Union armies in southern 
Tennessee - Buell's Army of 
Ohio and Grant's Army of the 
Tennessee lay in wait.  Knowing 
the two forces were poised to 
the attack, Johnston decided to 
take the attack to them first, 
attacking each independently 
before they could join forces.  
He first decided to move against
Grant at Shiloh Church.

Four corps advanced against 
Grant's position on April 5th.  
Due to bad weather, their 
advance was slowed, and camp was 
made for the night - only four 
miles from the Union army.  
Fortunately for the Confederates,
the Union had few outposts, 
almost no cavalry, and the army 
had not entrenched, as Grant was
preparing to be the attacker.  

Johnston's men moved early the 
next morning, catching many of 
the Union brigades still in 
bivouac.  The Union men fought 
stubbornly but eventually 
retreated toward the area known 
as the "Hornet's Nest."  This 
line held for five hours, 
enabling Grant to form a 
stronger line supported by 
artillery  on ground of his own 
choosing.

The area around Shiloh was 
heavily wooded with swamps 
and creeks bisecting the 
battlefield.  This terrain made 
it almost impossible to control 
units of any size - corps and 
divisions ceased to exist as 
viable units.  Their commanders 
were reduced to leading 
individual brigades.  Johnston 
himself fell while leading a 
Confederate brigade forward.

Given the difficult terrain and 
the loss of their commander, 
the Confederate attack stalled.
Beauregard, Johnston's deputy 
commander, withdrew and 
attempted to reorganize his 
badly dispersed army.

The next day, Grant went on the 
offensive, recapturing all of 
the ground lost on the previous 
day.  The Confederates withdrew 
to Corinth, but Grant did not 
pursue as his army was badly 
damaged.

To this point in 1862, Shiloh 
was the bloodiest battle of the 
Civil War, with almost 25,000 
dead or wounded.  Casualties 
amounted to 13,000 out of 62,000
for the Union, and 11,700 out 
of 37,000 for the Confederates.