The National tribune., 1886-02-04
The Battle OF Shiloh.

To THE EDITOR: In your issue of Dec. "a,
1885. / see an article on the battle of Shiloh,
written by Col. Jackson, and in which it ap-
pears to me there are n good many errors.
Though / am not much given to criticism, if
you will lend me little space i'll your valu-
able paper would like to correct at least few
of his mistakes. In fact, a man who was at
Shiloh and participated in that desperate strug-
gle, wond he constrained to make up his mind
that the Colonel was not there at all; that his
statement was made up from hearsay, and not
from personal observation, as he claims In the
first place, he says Col. Peabody was tho Colo
mel of the 23d Mo. He crrs here, Us Jacob T.
Tindall was Colonel of the 23d Mo-, and was
killed early in the forenoon of the 9th.
He says detachment of the 23d Mo-, under
Col. Peabody. was sent out early in the morn
ing of the 9th to feel the enemy's approach.
He errs here also. ! was in Co. g, of the 23d
Mo-, and we did not get to Shiloh until about
noon on the 9Th, and after we disembarked we
camped on the bank of the river, where we lay
all night and until we were ordered out to take
position in line of battle on the morning OF the
9th. and no detachment of any kind was taken
from regiment If any detachment was
ordered ont, as Comrade jackson claims, it
must have been from the 25th Mo-, as that
regiment was encampcd the farthest out on
the Corinth road. But | never heard before of
any detachment being sent out at any time
Ia fact the men Of the 25th Mo. who were
taken prisoners with us claimed that they
could throw stone from their camp to the
outer picket-line.
Then, after some minor errors, Comrade Jack
son goes on and tries to show that the Union
forces were not surprised at Shiloh. Well, if
they were not then | don't understand the
meaning of the word surprise. / undertake to
say here that there are not 10men living to-day
who were in that bloody contest who do not
saw il was a terrible SurnriSe Eycn thp o1th
Mo. boys many of whom were yet in their beds,
had not the slightest intImatOn of the enemy S
approach until they We're fred on. This | have
from the lips of the men of that regiment who
were taken prisoners with us. Again, if we
were not surprised at Shiloh, why did Gen.
Grant allow %, 000 men to lay there in the
woods for four weeks right in the face Of rs 600
of the enemy, only 20 miles distant, and not
have some kind, at least of breastwo made
or ri1e-pits dug? On the contrary not tree
was cut, not shovel of dirt was dug not a
preparation of any description was made for
defense, and the result is only too well known.
Thirty thousand of us had to march out in open
field and battle all day with Bcauregards whole
army, which outnumbered us two to one.
Shiloh was either terrible surprise or else
our Generals were terribly derelict in not pre-
pairing for the attack. 1t hardly seems reason
able that if Gen. Grant had anticipated a fight
there, as Comrade Jackson would have us be-
llcVe, he Wouin nave allowed his army to lie
there for weeks as he did, not preparing for a
battle, and have us butchered up and taken
prisoner as lie did. We who were there can't
swallow such taffy Then, again, Comrade
Jackson would have us believe that Gen. Prem
tiss surrendered the middle of the afternoon.
He errs here again. We surrendered just about
shutdown, for | know it was after dark when
we got to the old cOrnfied where the Johnnies
marched us and kept us all night, and where
Law tuc fIlrroyvS until tho dranchi m
rain washed the dirt down over US and we had
to get up and sit up in the rain and mud the
balance of the night.-B. 7. BEvELLE, Co. G,
23d Mo-, Clarinda, Iowa.