Supported by the fire of the Washington Artillery, the Ninth Texas and Twentieth Louisiana, along with the Confederate Guards Response Battalion, assaulted Buckland’s position on the ridge. Screaming their wild yells, many of them in German, (three-fourths of the Twentieth were Germans by birth, and their commanding officer was the former Prussian Consul at New Orleans), the Rebels forced Buckland to fall back and entered the Seventy-seventh Ohio’s camp.45
If Buckland was beginning to give ground, the situation on Sherman’s left was even worse, for Colonel Hildebrand’s brigade was disintegrating. Under heavy pressure from the troops of Johnson’s and Russell’s brigades, the Fifty-seventh Ohio broke and headed for the rear.46
From left to right, Johnson had Colonel J. K. Walker’s Second Tennessee, Lieutenant Colonel R. C. Tyler’s Fifteenth Tennessee, Colonel A. K. Blythe’s Mississippi Battalion (subsequently known as the Forty-fourth), and Colonel Preston Smith’s One hundred fifty-fourth Tennessee, plus Captain Marshall T. Polk’s Tennessee Battery of four 6-pound smoothbores and two 12-pound howitzers. On orders from General Bragg, the brigade went into action, charging Sherman’s left, but the Mississippians advanced around the point of the hill north of the Rhea House, attacking Waterhouse’s Battery from the right flank.47
As the Mississippi soldiers moved up, they observed the wreckage of the earlier attack. A Private Gullick, Company H, remarked to his sergeant, “From the looks of things around here we are going to have some fun…. I would give a thousand dollars for a shot in my hand”—a Civil War reference to a “million dollar” wound. Meeting some wounded, who were walking and looking for a field hospital, Gullick spotted a young soldier with a smashed hand, and he laughingly made the same remark he had made earlier to his sergeant. With tears streaming down his cheeks, the young wounded soldier replied, “Go up the hill where I have been, and the Yanks will give you one and won’t charge you a cent.” (Gullick was later killed in Georgia.)48
Many of the Mississippians suffered worse than wounded hands as they went into action. Colonel Blythe was shot dead from his horse, and within minutes his successor, Lieutenant Colonel D. L. Herron, went down mortally wounded. The regiment quickly halted, taking cover in a ravine near the battery.49 The wounded were sent to the rear, including Private John C. Thompson, aged seventy-one, probably the oldestman on either side in the battle. The regimental surgeon took one look at Judge Thompson’s scalp wound and told the elderly soldier to go ride in an ambulance. Within minutes, how ever, the determined Thompson, a strong secessionist, was back with his company, fighting by the side of his thirteen year old son, Flem.50
Johnson’s two left regiments charged the remnants of the Third Brigade and the Seventy-second Ohio together. Coming under heavy fire, the Tennesseans began to falter, but Lieutenant Colonel Tyler drew his pistol and restored order. With Polk’s Battery in position just behind the attacking force, the two regiments pushed steadily onward, trading shots with the Federals. Union fire wounded Colonel Tyler’s horse, then the rider, forcing him to leave the field. Federal riflemen worked Polk’s Battery over, breaking the doughty captain’s leg and killing and wounding many men and horses. Lieutenant T. R. Smith assumed command of the battery, but its fire dropped off badly.51
Johnson’s two left regiments bogged down, but his detached One hundred fifty-fourth Tennessee, charging through the Fifty-third Ohio camp and stumbling across Shiloh Branch, finally made it to Waterhouse’s position just as the troops from Russell’s brigade came swarming upon the Illinoisans’ left flank.52 The battery tried to withdraw, but Waterhouse was wounded and then the next officer to take over, Lieutenant Abial Abbott, also went down. Lieutenant J. A. Fitch then took charge, but by this time the Tennesseans were virtually on top of the gunners.53 The battery personnel managed to pull back, leaving three guns behind in the hands of Company B, One hundred fifty-fourth Tennessee. Privates D. W. Collier, John C. Southerland, James W. Maury, and James Southerland were the first four to get to the cannon,54 where they found a beautiful Irish setter guarding the body of his dead master and barking fiercely at any Southerner who approached him.55
At this time Bushrod Johnson was severely wounded while trying to reform Walker’s Second Tennessee, but his other regiments had already penetrated the Shiloh Church line.56 The Fifth Division’s position was now hopelessly compromised. The Third Brigade was either routed or shattered; Buck land’s brigade front was falling back; and the en tire division was cut off from Raith’s Illinois brigade, which was now in danger of being overwhelmed.
Sherman’s First Brigade was committed on the right of Buckland’s brigade to prevent its flank from being turned by Colonel Preston Pond, Jr.’s Brigade,57 so no reinforcements were forthcoming from that quarter. McDowell had moved his three regiments, from left to right Colonel Stephen Hicks, Fortieth Illinois, Captain Daniel Iseminger, Sixth Iowa, (Colonel McDowell was now commanding the brigade, the lieutenant colonel was under arrest, and Major J. M. Corse was absent on General John Pope’s staff) and his battery, the Sixth Indiana Light Artillery, Captain Frederick Behr, into position on the ridge to cover Buck land’s right about 8:00 a.m. He detached two companies of the Sixth Iowa under Captain M. W. Walden, afterwards governor of Iowa, and a 12-pound howitzer under Lieutenant William Mussman to protect the crossing at the Owl Creek Bridge.
Observing Pond’s Brigade moving toward him, McDowell ordered Captain Behr to open fire with his remaining howitzer. McDowell then ordered the Fortieth Illinois to move to the left in closer support of Buckland’s right.58
Confederate skirmishers quietly worked their way forward toward McDowell’s position and commenced peppering Behr’s gunners with musketry. The battery commander, formerly of the Prussian artillery, handed his binoculars to an enlisted man, J. L. Bieler, instructing him to spot the snipers. Eyes straining through the glasses, Bieler slowly searched the surrounding terrain until he finally located a group of Confederates well concealed in a far away corn crib. With this information in hand, and at Behr’s order, the ponderous iron tubes were wheeled about and sighted on the crib. Shell fire raked the Confederates and the musket fire abruptly ceased.59
Pond’s Brigade, less the Thirty-eighth Tennessee and one section of Ketchum’s Battery (which was detached to cover Owl Creek Bridge), moved slowly forward. Before serious contact was made, however, McDowell received orders about 10:00 a.m. to fall back to the Purdy Road.60
Some of Pond’s skirmishers did have a rather weird experience with Colonel Stephen Hicks’ Fortieth Illinois just be fore the withdrawal. Still clad in their pre-war blue militia uniforms, the group of Louisianans stumbled upon the Federals. Colonel Hicks assumed that they were a party of lost Northerners, but some of the colonel’s men suspected the men to be Rebels. The colonel ordered his soldiers to hold their fire, and he asked the group to identify themselves. They replied that they belonged to an Indiana regiment, and in turn asked the colonel what out fit his was. Hicks then gave the command to fall back by “right of companies to the rear into columns,” and as the Federals turned around and marched off, Pond’s bluecoated Confederates speeded their withdrawal by peppering the Fortieth with musketry.61
Sherman sent Captain J. H. Hammond of his staff to notify Buckland’s regiments to pull back. He made it to the Seventieth’s and Forty-eighth’s commanding officers, but before he could inform the Seventy-second, Colonel Buckland, on his own initiative, ordered the regiment to retreat to the Purdy Road.62
After about two hours of stubborn fighting, the entire Fifth Division was falling back in some disorder. Raith’s brigade was also trying to pull back, under attack by Russell, Stewart, and Wood.63 Russell’s lead regiment, the Twelfth Tennessee, had a comparatively easy advance, for by the time they attacked, the Illinoisans were already pulling back. They suffered a few casualties to rear guard fire, but managed to occupy the Fourth Illinois Cavalry camp. The Thirteenth advanced on the Twelfth’s right, with Colonel Vaughan intending to turn the Illinois battery’s left
flank. Advancing to ward Raith’s brigade, the regiment began catching heavy musket fire. Private Bert Moore was hit by a spent slug, which knocked him off his feet. Men began drop ping faster and faster. Sergeant John S. Scarbrough saw his brother, Lemuel, drop from a bullet, but he had only time to cry out, “Hello, Lemuel!” so swift was Vaughan’s Confederates’ pace.64
Through a mix-up in orders, Major Wingfield went wandering off to the left with four companies while Vaughan and the other six turned the corner and headed in on Waterhouse’s left flank. The lost sheep became scattered and took heavy casualties, but Vaughan and the others charged the battery, which was attempting to retreat at the same time the One hundred fifty-fourth Tennessee was charging head on.65
Lieutenant Colonel Enos P. Wood, Seventeenth Illinois, had already fallen back about two hundred yards behind the battery’s position as the Tennesseans hit it, and he could see the Southerners hoist the “Stars and Bars” above the captured pieces. Lieutenant Alexander T. Davis, Company K, grabbed a rifle from one of his wounded men and brought down the color bearer. The regiment continued falling back until it reached General McClernand and the rest of the division.66
Wood’s and Stewart’s brigades were supposed to have joined in with Russell and Johnson in this advance, but both had been delayed by some peculiar circumstances. Stewart’s Second Brigade, from left to right, the Fifth Tennessee, Lieutenant Colonel C. D. Venable, Thirty-third Tennessee, Colonel A. W. Campbell, Thirteenth Arkansas, Lieutenant Colonel A. D. Grayson, and the Fourth Tennessee, Colonel Rufus Neely, formed up on the main Pittsburg Road, beginning its forward movement about 7:00 a.m. Advancing about eight hundred yards, the troops dropped their knap sacks and then resumed their march. As the Fifth Tennessee passed Fraley’s Field one of Sherman’s batteries opened fire on Venable and his men. One private was killed, another wounded, and the flagstaff severed.67
Stewart continued moving forward until General Johnston came riding up and directed him to support Bragg. The Confederate commander left, and Stewart has tened to execute his order.68
As his Arkansas regiment reached the camp of the Fourth Illinois, heavy fire broke out around the Trans-Mississippi soldiers. Union gunners were sporadically shelling Gibson’s Brigade behind and slightly east of Stewart’s unit. An exploding projectile mortally wounded a private in Company D, Thirteenth Arkansas;69 another burst of fire killed five enlisted men in the Thirteenth Louisiana;70 still another shell burst badly wounded Captain William A. Crawford, a member of Company E, First Arkansas.71
The whole brigade was getting restless and a bit nervous when suddenly Private A. V. Vertner came riding toward the Fourth Louisiana with a U. S. flag draped around his waist and a Yankee cap on his head. Vertner, a former member of Company C, Fourth Louisiana, had been detached from the company since June the previous year and was now serving as an orderly to Major General William J. Hardee. Someone yelled, “Here’s your Yankee,” and a hundred guns instantly were leveled at the horseman. Vertner and his horse went down, riddled with bullets before anyone recognized him.72
Some of the Louisianans’ shots hit Stewart’s Brigade, particularly the Thirteenth Arkansas. Captain H. W. Murphy, Company C, was killed and Captain R. B. Lambert, Company A, Lieutenants J. C. Hall and B. M. Hopkins, Company A, and several privates were wounded. Assuming they had been outflanked, Stewart’s Arkansans returned the fire with enthusiasm. Their musket balls raked the Fourth Louisiana with deadly effect. Colonel Henry W. Allen, future governor of Louisiana, reported that it was “a terrible blow to the regiment; far more terrible than any inflicted by the enemy.”73 Private Thomas Chinn Robertson reported one hundred and five members of the regiment down from the Arkansans’ fire. Colonel Gibson’s horse was also hit, and the brigade commander was somewhat shaken up, but he quickly ordered Colonel Allen’s regiment to fall back and reform.74 Lieutenant Colonel Grayson finally calmed his Thirteenth Arkansas, but precious minutes were lost before the unit was able to move forward again, thus the advance of the entire brigade was disrupted.75
Stewart soon had his men moving forward again, but Raith’s Illinoisans were already falling back to link up with the rest of General McClernand’s division.76 Wood’s Brigade moved up on Stewart’s right, but also had trouble making contact with the Illinoisans. After resistance described as “not strong,” his brigade advanced into Colonel Raith’s camps.77
All six Confederate brigades now moved forward toward the new Union defensive arrangement established along the northern side of the Review Field at the crossroads of the Corinth-Purdy roads and on up along the Purdy Road.
Chapter 9
The Battle Spreads
THE FEDERAL DEFENSE WAS crumbling not only on the right and center, but also on the extreme left, for Hardee was beginning to make brigade-sized attacks on Colonel Peabody’s brigade. From left to right the icily-tempered Colonel Peabody placed what was left of the Sixteenth Wisconsin, Colonel Benjamin Allen, Twenty-first Missouri, Lieutenant Colonel Humphrey Woodyard, Twelfth Michigan, Colonel Francis Quinn, and the Twenty-fifth Missouri, Lieutenant Colonel Robert Van Horn.1
Since the forming of this position around 7:30 a.m., after its withdrawal from Seay’s Field area, the Westerners had been catching fairly heavy fire from Shaver’s Brigade, and, to a lesser extent, from their first foe, Wood’s Brigade. For some reason the latter organization appears to have made a singularly slow advance, thus Shaver’s Brigade did most of the fighting along the Rhea Field.
Captain Charles Swett’s Battery opened up with its 6- and 12-pound guns as Shaver’s infantry moved forward.2 Shaver’s order of advance was the Seventh Arkansas, Lieutenant Colonel John Dean, Second Arkansas, Colonel Daniel C. Govan, Sixth Arkansas, Colonel Alexander Hawthorn, and Third Confederate, Colonel John Marmaduke.3 The Southern infantry held their fire while advancing in a tight linear formation.
Seventeen year old Private Henry Parker, Company E, Sixth Arkansas, wore some violets in his cap and naively remarked, “Perhaps the Yanks won’t shoot me if they see me wearing such flowers, for they are a sign of peace.” Unfortunately young Parker’s idea did not work, and he ended up with a badly smashed foot.4
Drawn up in double lines, Peabody’s soldiers had little to do but await the arrival of the enemy. Lieutenant Colonel Van Horn delayed giving an order until the Rebels were close enough to receive an effective fire. When they stepped into range, he gave the command: “Attention, battalion. Ready! Aim! Fire!” The blast of rifle fire stopped the Confederates’ charge cold, with the surviving Southerners either falling back in disorder or taking cover as best they could.
But now it was the Northerners’ turn to suffer, as the Confederate soldiers raked their line with musketry. Van Horn’s men held, but Confederate troops turned the right of the brigade, and soon the Federals were falling back to a new position in front of their camp site. By this time Colonel Peabody was no longer alone. His left flank was protected by the rest of the division: Miller’s brigade deployed along the north end of the Spain Field and two supporting artillery batteries, Munch’s and Hickenlooper’s.
From left to right, Miller arranged his Eighteenth Wisconsin, Colonel James Alban, Sixty-first Illinois, Colonel Jacob Fry, and the Eighteenth Missouri, Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Pratt. It was a good position, since any advancing Confederate troops would have to come up a sharp slope, while Hickenlooper’s Battery, located just to the right rear of the brigade, dropped explosives on their heads. Peabody’s brigade was deployed on the other side of the Eastern Corinth Road, with Munch’s First Minnesota Battery immediately to their rear. There was a plowed field and a few scattered trees in front. The infantry had the protection of a slight swell in the ground along the edge of the trees.5
Around 8:00 a.m., Peabody’s already battered men were struck again by Shaver’s Brigade, which was supported by the right regiments of General Wood’s outfit. At the same time Miller was hit by Gladden’s First Brigade, (from left to right, the Twenty-fifth Alabama, Colonel John Loom
is, Twenty-second Alabama, Colonel Zach Deas, Twenty-first Alabama, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Cayce, First Louisiana, Colonel Daniel Adams, and the Twenty-sixth Alabama, Colonel John Coltart) advancing parallel to and on both sides of the Eastern Corinth Road, and part of Chalmers’ “High Pressure” Brigade, moving up on Gladden’s right, by order of General Withers.6
Gladden sent Robertson’s Florida Battery into action to give adequate covering fire for the attack. The advancing Confederate infantry began to waver under the sharp fire from Prentiss’ division, and the battery soon began catching scattered rifle fire. Lieutenant S. H. Dent and Captain Felix Robertson took the first section of the latter’s Florida battery into within one hundred and fifty yards of Prentiss’ line before going into action. Rifle fire chopped severely at the battery, but its fire vigorously punished Prentiss’ soldiers.7
Miller’s infantry permitted Gladden’s hungry, muddy soldiers to advance up the slope to about one hundred yards range before squeezing their triggers. Men began to go down all around. The momentum of the attack broke down, and a stubborn fire fight quickly developed. Some of the Southerners began drifting toward the rear, but the officers went to work rallying them. One officer pointed at Robertson’s guns and yelled, “Men do not disgrace yourselves by deserting those brave fellows.”8 Thanks to his initiative and the efforts of other officers, the withdrawal soon halted.
Chalmers’ attack also developed some problems. From left to right his order of advance was: the Fifty-second Tennessee, Colonel Benjamin Lea, Fifth Mississippi, Colonel Albert Fant, Ninth Mississippi, Lieutenant Colonel William Rankin, Seventh Mississippi, Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton Mayson, and the Tenth Mississippi, Colonel Robert Smith, with Captain Charles Gage’s Alabama Battery providing cover fire. The Mississippians advanced to within one hundred and fifty yards of the top of the slope before Chalmers ordered a halt. At his next order, the five regiments began hitting the Eighteenth Wisconsin and Sixty-first Illinois with musketry. Men dropped on both sides from cannon and rifle fire. The horse of Colonel B. J. Lea, Fifty-second Tennessee, was shot from under him, as also was the animal of the regimental major, Thomas G. Rundle.9 After a few rounds, the order was given to fix bayonets and charge. Somehow only the Tenth Mississippi heard this command, so that regiment charged to ward Miller’s line by it self. The Mississippians, three hundred and sixty strong, minus a few casualties in the past few minutes’ firing, hit the Wisconsin regiment’s line with enough force to rout the Northerners. As the Eighteenth broke, Private Micajah Wilkinson “gave it to one old blue belly about where his suspenders crossed, sending him to eternity.”10
Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 Page 18