Shiloh Tennessee
American Civil War
April 6 - April 7 1862

  Battles of the Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers Campaign:
Fort Henry
Fort Donelson
Shiloh 		 

Results

The losses on each side at Shiloh were unusually heavy. Grant's army of 39,830 had been reinforced by 25,255 during the night between the 2 days' battle, swelling the total number of Union troops engaged to 65,085, excluding a guard detachment of 1,727 men left at Crump's Landing. Of that total number 1,754 were reported killed, 8,408 wound ed, and 2,885 missing; presenting an aggregate of 13,047 casualties.

The army under Generals Johnston and Beauregard had gone into battle with 43,968 men of all arms and condition. They received no reinforcements, except 731 men of Col. Munson R. Hill's Tennessee Regiment who had reached the front unarmed and were furnished with arms and equipment picked up from the field. The Southerners lost 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 captured or missing, or a total of 10,699 casualties.

During the first few weeks following the battle, both sides claimed a victory. The Confederates based their claim upon the facts that they had inflicted an almost complete rout on the Federals on Sunday, April 6, and that they had been able to hold a part of the field until they withdrew in good order on Monday. Furthermore, they said, the Union armies were so battered that they were unable to pursue.

"Present" and "Casualties" at Shiloh

Present
for duty		 Casualties
Killed Wounded Missing Total
UNION
Army of the Tennessee (April 6) 39,830 1,433 6,202 2,818 10,453

Reinforcements (April 7)
Army of the Tennessee 7,337 80 399 12 491
Army of the Ohio 17,918 241 1,807 55 2,103

   Total Federals engaged1 65,085 1,754 8,408 2,885 13,047

CONFEDERATE
Army of the Mississippi (April 6) 43,968 1,728 8,012 959 10,699

Reinforcements (April 7)
Hill's 47th Tennessee 731




   Total Confederates engaged 44,699 1,728 8,012 959 10,699

   GRAND TOTAL 109,784 3,482 16,420 3,844 23,746

1 Does not include 1,727 troops left at Crump's Landing as rear guard.

The Federals claimed the victory upon the grounds that on Monday evening they had recovered their encampments and had possession of the field from which the Confederates had retired, leaving behind a large number of their dead and wounded.

After the Battle of Shiloh the Confederates were compelled to withdraw southward. Corinth was abandoned to the North on May 30th, severing the railroad from Memphis to Chattanooga. By the end of June 1862, only those forts on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg remained in Southern hands. After a long siege, Vicksburg fell to the North on July 4, 1863, cutting the Confederacy in two.

April 6
April 7
Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War
The battle of Shiloh, fought in April 1862 in the wilderness of south central Tennessee, marked a savage turning point in the Civil War. In this masterful book, The drama and the horror of the battle and discusses in authoritative detail the political and military policies that led to Shiloh

Shiloh Western Campaign
Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862
The Battle of Shiloh was one of the most critical battles in American History. Some of the biggest figures of the Civil War - Grant, Sherman, Johnston, Bragg, Beauregard, Buell - all fought there. Grant would write in his memoirs, before Shiloh, Americans on both sides of the Mason Dixon line believed that the war could still be a short affair.

Confederate Plan of Battle

click to enlarge

Battle Progression Map

More on Shiloh Tennessee
National Park Map and Legend
American Civil War Exhibits
Tennessee Civil War Battle Map
Civil War Summary
Women in the War
Documents of the Civil War
Civil War Picture Album
Civil War Store


Shiloh--In Hell before Night
Whether the reader is a Civil War novice or an expert, this book provides an accurate storytelling of this great battle. This is a great read about the battle. This fills in the gaps on this battle, and examines all the command decisions.
The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield
Fought in south central Tennessee, north of Corinth, Mississippi, the battle showed the nation that the Civil War would be long and difficult. The Battle of Shiloh opened up the western Confederacy to the Union invasion that would ultimately prove its undoing
Shiloh and Corinth: Sentinels of Stone
The brave deeds performed by soldiers of the North and South. Approximately 93 striking photographs and accompanying histories bring the battlefields to life, from Shiloh and Savannah, Tennessee, to Iuka and Corinth, Mississippi
Shilol: A Novel by Shelby Foote
One of the best novels of the American Civil War. Foote is able to capture not only the sense of the battle, but the spirit of the soldiers who fought there. A study of the human condition and how it deals with the horrors of war

P.G.T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray
Beauregard often gets overlooked, he was never as beloved as Lee or Stonewall Jackson, but he was capable, the man had a sharp mind and Lee understood this, even if Jefferson Davis did not
The Military Operations of General Beauregard in the War Between the States 1861 to 1865
Struggle for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth
The military campaign that began in early 1862 with the advance to Fort Henry and culminated in late May with the capture of Corinth, Mississippi. The first significant Northern penetration into the Confederate west
Where the South Lost the War: An Analysis of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson Campaign
The war probably could have been over in 1862 had Lieutenant Phelps destroyed the bridge at Florence. Not doing so provided a retreat for A. S. Johnston to move his men to Corinth and then to Shiloh

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
Shiloh: The War is Civil No More

Gettysburg / Gods and Generals
The tide of the war changes during three fierce days of combat at Gettysburg [Disc 1] the gripping saga of the tactics command errors and sacrifices behind the bloodiest battle ever fought on U.S. soil. Gods and Generals [Disc 2] reveals the spirited allegiances and fierce combat of earlier Civil War struggles

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries
The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union



Source:
Library of Congress
National Park Service
Department of the Interior