Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862

by Edward Cunningham

  By around 4:00 p.m., General Ruggles’ artillery line was in action, heavily pounding Wallace’s and Prentiss’ soldiers. Considering the light caliber of the Southern weapons and the general quality of Civil War ammunition, especially Confederate army issued artillery rounds, it is questionable just how much damage Ruggles’ guns caused, but the fusillade caused some casualties and it could not have helped Federal morale. The Confederate guns were emplaced a little less than a quarter of a mile from the Union position. This meant that the Southerners were beyond the range of accurate Northern rifle fire. But Civil War rifles could kill at more than a quarter of a mile range, even though inaccurate; so the Confederate cannoneers were exposed to fire not only from Federal cannon, but from enemy rifles as well.38

  Several of the Southern batteries were badly mangled by this return fire. Captain Robertson’s Florida Battery took a particularly heavy pounding. Unlimbering along the edge of the Duncan Field, the Floridians were the target of Federal riflemen. Minie balls spattered the position, kicking up the dirt and killing or mangling the artillery horses. Either Battery D or H, First Missouri Light Artillery, zeroed in on Robertson’s position, hitting it with 20-pound Parrott shells. One gunner, standing in front of Lieutenant S. H. Dent, was torn to pieces by a Parrott round. More horses were hit, and more gunners. Finally Robertson, his Napoleons unable to match the superior accuracy of the enemy Parrotts, ordered his men to hitch up the guns and fall back. So many of their horses were dead or wounded by this time that the Florida unit was only able to withdraw two of their 1200 pound weapons, temporarily abandoning the others until later in the day.39

  Strong concentrations of Confederate infantry moved in to support Ruggles’ guns and quickly engaged Prentiss’ embattled soldiers. Stewart’s men traded rifle fire with the Federals in the Hornet’s Nest while Captain Bankhead’s gunners poured in 6- and 12-pound rounds.40 Looney’s Tennesseans of the Thirty-eighth regiment also arrived along the Duncan Field, as well as Colonel Preston Smith and his One hundred fifty-fourth Tennessee, which took up a position to support Swett’s Battery.41

  Fragments of other Confederate units and hundreds of disorganized troops also took up positions to support Ruggles. On orders from the Massachusetts-born Confederate general, Captain Samuel Latta, Thirteenth Tennessee, deployed a force of stragglers from various units and members of his own company to support the Confederate batteries. Latta’s men worked their way forward, under heavy rifle fire, to take cover behind trees and fence posts, from where they were able to snipe at Wallace’s men. Despite the presence of Confederate snipers, the Union fire slacked off little, if any, but at least many of the Federals diverted their rifle sights from the Southern gunners to Latta’s men. Captain Latta picked up a rifle and fought like an enlisted man. Standing behind a tree, Latta lined up his rifle sight on a far off enemy rifleman and squeezed the trigger. The Bluecoat dropped to the ground and did not get up. To Captain Latta, this was partial or complete payment for wounds sustained by him at Belmont.42

  The entire area along the Duncan Field and on down in front of General Prentiss’ division presented a weird scene. The air was thick with the smell of blood and powder smoke, while the entire area trembled with sounds of artillery fire. Mangled men and animals added their cries of terror and pain to the confusion. Most of the men on both sides were badly frightened by the terrible and ghastly smells and sounds of the din. Still, somehow, most of them kept on fighting. One Con federate soldier in the Twenty-third Tennessee described it as follows:

  It was an awful thing to hear no intermission in firing and hear the clatter of small arms and the whizing minny balls and rifle shot and the sing of grape shot the hum of cannon balls and the roaring of the bomb shell and explosion of same seaming to be a thousand every minute.43

  To Private William Swan of the Third Iowa Infantry, the “whole earth seemed in a blaze—the sharp, ringing crash of our musketry—our batteries belching forth their shot and shell, and roaring like the deep toned thunder.” Cannon shot ripped into the Hornet’s Nest, tearing bloody holes in the Yankee ranks. Exploding shells tore up the earth, shattering big oak trees as if struck by lightning, spattering the Federal soldiers with dirt and wood slivers. Still the determined Yanks held their ground.44

  Battery F, Second Illinois, had earlier in the day gal loped up behind Wallace’s position and quickly un limbered its six 6-pound guns in Duncan Field, but, losing one of them, soon took a less ex posed position farther to the east, near Wicker Field. The Illinois soldiers did yeoman’s work, but they were soon struck by heavy Con federate counter-battery fire. The battery commander, Captain John W. Powell, had his right arm shot off.45 U daunted by the loss of his limb, Powell later served with Grant at Vicksburg, and he wound up a major. After the war, the one-armed ex-soldier made the first trip down the turbulent Colorado River as well as many other exploring expeditions. Later he assisted in founding the U.S. Bureau of Ethnology, be coming its director in 1879. From 1881-1894, he was Director of the U. S. Geographical Survey. Powell died in 1902, at the age of sixty-eight, one of America’s most respected and esteemed scientists and explorers.46

  Despite all the noise and firing, the Hornet’s Nest held. But what about Wallace’s and Prentiss’ flanks? McClernand’s and Sherman’s men were retiring on the right, and on the left things were no better. At the price of hundreds of casualties, including General Albert Sidney Johnston, Hurlbut had been driven out of his Peach Orchard position. But after reshuffling his units around to strengthen his left, Hurlbut established a new line that cut across the Hamburg-Savannah Road and touched the edge of the Wicker Field.47 Now Hurlbut’s own left was steadily crumbling. After a series of determined stands, Stuart’s brigade, its ammunition exhausted, broke off its action with Chalmers and withdrew to ward the Landing.48

  McArthur’s little command put up a game fight with Jackson’s Confederate brigade and the right of Bowen’s Brigade, but it too was forced steadily back toward the river. Some Federal infantry concealed themselves in a small log building, but the Nineteenth Alabama charged and flushed them out while the Second Texas and the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Alabama cleared a line of Federal skirmishers from behind a fence. The Alabama and Texas soldiers climbed over the fence, pausing only to fire their muskets at McArthur’s retreating men. McArthur finally managed to get his battered Illinoisans formed in a line with Hurlbut’s new position.

  At this point in the battle, McArthur received some much needed reinforcements, the Fifty-seventh Illinois. A little after 4:00, Colonel Silas Baldwin moved up the Fifty-seventh to support McArthur. Except for sup porting one of Wallace’s batteries for a few minutes at the Hornet’s Nest, the Fifty-seventh was still fresh. Colonel Baldwin and his men were barely in position before Jackson’s skirmishers passed over a hill several hundred yards in front of McArthur’s position and opened fire. Baldwin’s riflemen sprayed bullets at the Confederates, forcing one of Jackson’s color bearers to take cover behind a stump.49 The Seventeenth’s color bearer was some what more determined, however. As McArthur’s men riddled his banner with Minie balls, one of his comrades called to him to lower his burden. The plucky color bearer yelled back, “Never! I’ll die before this flag shall be lowered.”50 At least for the moment the young Con federate kept his banner waving, but McArthur’s fire was extremely ac curate. Baldwin’s skirmishers were gradually working their way to ward the Confederates, some of them taking shelter behind a tree blown down by artillery fire. Colonel Wheeler recklessly galloped up and down his front encouraging his Alabamans, but a Federal marksman shot his horse and the pugnacious little colonel wound up sprawled upon the ground.

  Ammunition was running out and some confusion developed in the brigade, although order was quickly restored. Hurlbut’s position rapidly deteriorated. Chalmers’ Brigade was speedily outflanking McArthur’s little force, whose men were rapidly becoming exhausted. The Ninth Illinois alone had lost fifty-eight per cent of its effectives killed, wounded, or missing.


  Hurlbut decided the only thing to do was to retreat to the Landing. He immediately issued orders to his regimental commanders to fall back, and within minutes most of his men were retiring in comparatively good order.51 McArthur’s brigade also with drew when it be came evident that Hurlbut was pulling back.

  A sixty year old private in the Ninth Illinois re fused to retreat when his regiment went to the rear. Instead, he joined up with another unit and fought with it until it also withdrew, whereupon he attached himself to still a third regiment. That night, rejoining his comrades in the Ninth, the elderly warrior displayed notes from officers of the units to which he had attached himself, stating that he had honorably fought with them.52

  The Fifty-seventh Illinois started retreating when it saw the units on its right pulling back, but the Third Iowa, which connected Hurlbut’s right with Prentiss, either failed to get the retreat order or was simply unable to execute it, for it remained near the Hornet’s Nest, still determinedly fighting.53

  General Bragg, nursing a badly bruised leg from a fall when his horse was shot out from under him, rode over his section of the battlefield frantically issuing orders for all units to advance. Spurred in part by Bragg’s aggressiveness, Confederate units began moving forward into the vacuum created by Hurlbut’s withdrawal.54

  Hardee’s troops, particularly Russell’s brigades, were already moving behind Wallace’s exposed right flank, and General Polk was moving in with the Crescent Louisiana Regiment. With Hurlbut’s withdrawal, the Union center was left hanging in the air.55 Gladden’s and Chalmers’ brigades quickly pressed in upon Prentiss’ now ex posed left.56 General Prentiss moved part of his division back at right angles to protect himself from the Confederate advance. The Second and Sixth divisions were now in the strange position of fighting back to back.57

  An aide brought General Wallace the news that his right was hanging in the air due to McClernand’s withdrawal. Realizing that within minutes his division would be surrounded, Wallace gave the order to retreat along the Pittsburg Road.58 With the Second and Seventh Iowa, Colonel Tuttle and General Wallace started down the road in their at tempt to escape.

  Confederate troops raked the retreating Federal column with heavy musketry, and near the forks of the Eastern Corinth Road, riding at the head of his troops, Wallace was shot down.59 The general’s brother-in- law, Cyrus Dickey, was riding by his side when the fatal bullet hit home. Dickey sup posed Wallace to be dead, but wanted to save the body, and with the help of three orderlies tried to carry the general off the field. The firing was so heavy that the other three men let go and ran off, and Dickey was reluctantly forced to abandon what he sup posed to be the general’s corpse near some ammunition boxes.60

  Tuttle and the Second and Seventh Iowa continued on down the road, but the rest of the brigade was unable to disengage in time. Confederate infantry were already in the rear of the Fourteenth Iowa when Shaw gave the order to fall back. Some of the Iowa infantry straggled behind the main body, determined to get a few more shots off. Even these die-hards soon realized, however, that it was hopeless and fell back, trying to catch up with Shaw and the others.61 The Iowans found themselves being fired into from all sides, and Shaw quickly realized he was surrounded and that further resistance was futile. Ordering his men to cease fire, the explorer-soldier per son ally surrendered to Major F. E. Whitfield of the Ninth Mississippi, Chalmers’ Brigade.62

  The Fourteenth Iowa’s stragglers caught up with their regiment at this point. Seeing their comrades surrender, they began smashing their rifles rather than turn them over. Although the Iowans were now at least theoretically prisoners, there was still heavy firing going on across the area. Parties of Confederate troops, having swarmed into the Hornet’s Nest, were still shooting at anybody wearing a blue uniform. One of Chalmers’ officers told Shaw and his men to take cover in the army tents scattered around the area. Some of the Federals decided to follow the advice of the Mississippian and hid in the tents, where their uniforms were concealed.

  Unfortunately stray bullets continued raking the area, dropping Mississippians and Iowans alike. One of Shaw’s privates was killed by a slug through his head, and a Mississippi captain was dropped as if pole- axed, struck in the chin by a spent slug. The Fifty-fifth Tennessee wandered into the area and Lieutenant Colonel Wiley M. Reed assigned part of the outfit the task of rounding up the badly scattered Iowans.63

  From a vantage point in the rear, Captain Charles Swett could see the Confederates swarming over Wallace’s and Prentiss’ regiments, and he noted that the Blue and Gray were badly intermingled.64 The Twelfth Iowa re treated along Shaw’s left, but it too failed to get be yond General Hurlbut’s First Brigade camp. The Thirty-eighth Tennessee of Pond’s Brigade charged Wallace’s line as the division started to fall back. Looney’s Tennesseans rounded up most of the regiment while a few of the men were picked up by Chalmers’ Mississippians. Some mounted Confederates grabbed up the Twelfth’s flags and began dragging them through the mud.65 Colonel J. G. Woods was still with the regiment, but he was so badly wounded that as the retreat started, he turned the command over to his senior company commander, Captain Samuel R. Edgington. General Polk arrived in the Third Iowa camp just as Edgington ordered his men to drop their weapons, and the captain surrendered his sword to the “Fighting Bishop.” Always courteous, General Polk saluted Captain Edgington and returned the blade, although the captain and future colonel of the regiment had the sword taken away from him by his guards later.66

  A few yards to the west from where Edgington gave up, the charging Confederates caught up with Sweeny’s command. Running for their lives, a good part of the Fifty-eighth Illinois managed to break through the Southerners and escaped to the Landing, but over three hundred men did not make it, and these were collected by Confederate infantry.67 The Seventh Illinois, however, slipped through and escaped with only one or two stragglers lost. Despite all the excitement and turmoil, the one-armed Sweeny, suffering from a nasty wound in his remaining good left arm and another in one foot, managed to escape to the Landing.68

  Fortunately all of Wallace’s batteries pulled out before the collapse, and they escaped to the Landing area. Prentiss’ division fared little better than Wallace’s in its attempt to fall back from the Hornet’s Nest. Troops from Withers’ Division were all over the rear area, while the Thirty-third Tennessee charged directly behind the retreating Federals.69 Prentiss’ and Withers’ men be came so thoroughly mixed up that some of the Federals simply surrendered while others found or blasted gaps through the badly scattered Mississippians and Alabamans. The men of Chalmers’ Mississippi brigade managed to round up Lieutenant Colonel Isaac V. Pratt and more than a hundred members of his Eighteenth Missouri Regiment, plus some stragglers from Hurlbut’s Twenty-eighth Illinois, who failed to fall back with their division.70

  The Eighth Iowa met an even more stringent fate. A few of the men managed to slip through to the Landing, but the wounded Colonel Geddes and 335 of his men were cut off and taken prisoners.71 Some of the Iowans were reluctant to quit, and they kept firing at anyone wearing the wrong color uniform, even after Geddes surrendered and white flags were up. A Confederate officer rode over to try and stop the senseless killing. He yelled to the Iowans, “My God! lay down your arms; you will all be killed.” The Federals shot him down. Finally the firing eased, and the last die-hard surrendered.72

  The Sixty-first Illinois got out before the Confederates were able to surround it, and it lost only a few captured stragglers. But Prentiss’ other regiments took a pretty bad beating in terms of prisoners. The Rebels grabbed up some four hundred members of the Twenty-third Missouri, including its commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Quin Morton. His First Brigade, so badly mauled in the early morning’s fight, lost two hundred or more men captured and temporarily ceased to exist as a unit.73

  And what of the Sixth Division’s commander? He wound up a prisoner. A number of different Confederate units claimed to have captured the
general.74

  As Prentiss rode around the field with a white flag, trying to prevent any more of his men from being shot, the Thirty-third Tennessee came up screaming and yelling in triumph at the sight of hundreds of Union soldiers standing or walking around, their hands in the air. Still defiant, Prentiss reined in his horse, raised himself in his stirrups, and said, “Yell, boys, you have a right to shout for you have captured the bravest brigade [division] in the U. S. Army.”75

  Most of the Confederate officers tried to reorganize their men and pursue the fleeing Federals. Many Confederates, however, considered the battle over and began drifting to the rear to find something to eat or drink. Several minutes of fighting followed as the Southerners haphazardly fanned out after retreating Union soldiers. One Rebel gun crew managed to get ahead of Tuttle’s men. Some hundreds of yards from the Landing, this Confederate unit dashed through the ranks of the rapidly moving Federals. In the excitement no one seemed to notice that their uniforms were the wrong color. Unlimbering their pieces, the Rebels poured round after round into the Second Iowa, speeding it on its way toward the Landing.76

  With the Peach Orchard-Hornet’s Nest position at last overwhelmed, it seemed as though Beauregard was about to achieve the decisive victory so many of his soldiers had died for since early that morning. Just one more push would be necessary to sweep over and overwhelm the final remaining Federal line of resistance at the Landing and complete the annihilation of General Grant’s army.

  Chapter 13

  Last Stand

  DURING THE LONG DAY Union artillery helped delay or stop altogether attack after attack by the Confederate forces. After twelve hours of almost constant fighting, the Federal guns were privileged to repeat their role, this time at the Landing, their final stand of the day. The man in charge of the organization of this last stand effort was Colonel Joseph Dana Webster.