The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1901-01-24
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
Continued from first page

| S'hiioh NhtffH. Will iitttN III VI hb'h'
n half mild between them; Col. Peabody's
First Brigade. Sixth Division, on the right
and Col. aiiiier's Second Brigade on the
left. This lima faced south and was par
alle withpt- Sherman. Col. StuartS Bri
gade of SherInan's Division was about q
half mile to this left and rear of Prentiss
The 18th Ill. CAV. was camped east of the
Rhca Spring, and to the right and rear
OF Pcabody's Brigade.
| These divisions, with their batteries
| held the advanced line toward COrinth
and were two and a half miles from the
Landing.
Gen. j. A. McClernand, First Division
was camped in rear of Prentiss and Sher-
man half mile, and covered the gap be
| tween them at Rhea Spring; Gen. s. \.
| Hurlbut, Fourth Division, was camped
about a mile out from the Landing. on the
left of the Pittsburg and Corinth road
| Gen. w. III. l.. Wallace, Second Division
| about the same distance out. and on the
| right of Pittsburg and Corinth road; Gen
Lew Wallace, Third Division. as stated
was camped ut Crump's Landing.
These divisions constituted Gen. Grants
army at Pittsburg Landing. Abstracts
from field returns, April and ., show
pres Mt for duty 42,90S men, 9S7 officers
and 81 pieces of artillery. Lew Wallace's
| Division of 1864 men and II pieces of
artillery, at Crump's Landing. left Gen.
| Grants forces present for duty 81 ,331 men
and 30 pieces of artillery on Sunday morn
ing, April g. at Pittsburg Landing.
THE SHILOH BATTLEFIELD.
The ground back from the river was a
level plain traversed by ridges and ravines,
admirable for camping purposes. Snake
| Greek, on the north, and Lick Creek, on
the south, flow northeast into the Tennes-
see River, from three to four miles apart;
| Owl Creek, some FIVE miles out, flows
across the front in a northerly direction
into Snake Greek. forming parallelo-
gram: mile and fourth back from
the Landing; Tilghmans Branch flows
north into Snake Greek; three miles
| out Shiloh Branch flows in the
same direction into Owl Greek;
600 yards above the Landing Dill's
Branch, flowing nearly east, empties into
the Tennessee River These branches, BIZ
sccting the field formed numerous small
rayines, all densely wooded with large tim
Der and brush. Numerous roads trayersed
| the field. following the ridges.
The Corinth and Pittsburg road runs by
Shiloh Church, and at this point it passed
| through Sherman's Division at right
angles. a mile back from the Landing
| the South Corinth road branches off, run
ming parallel with the Pittsburg and Co
! rinth road at n distance of n mile and a
half, passing through Premises Division
and intersecting the Bark road about one
and 4 half miles in his front. The Bark
road starts from Hamburg, runs west,
crossing Lick Greek, running in front of
Col. Stuart and Prentiss, and intersecting
the Pittsburg and Corinth road about four
miles and a, half southwest of Pittsburg
Landing. The Hamburg and Purdy road
crosses the field at right angles in rear
of Stuart, and about half mile in rear
of Prentiss's and Sherman's Divisions The
River road from Hamburg to Crump's
Landing and Savannah runs parallel with
the Tennessee River and about three
fourths off, mile from it at Pittsburg
Landing and two miles where it crosses
Snake Greek.
Pittsburg Landing. and the little log
chapel two and half miles out on the
Pittsburg and Corinth road which per-
haps but few people outside Of the imme-
diate vicinity had ever heard of, was
soon destined to become famous in the an
mails of history for all time. Gen. Grant $
Divisions that had stormed the forts at
Donelson, with Gen. Premises newly-or-
ganized diyisioY, were now encamped on
The field awaiting the arrival of Gen. Buell.
with the Army Of the Ohio to begin n for
ward movement. The Army of the Ohio
was expected to reach Savannah by the
first of April. The Army of the Tennessee.
under Gen. Grant, at Pittsburg Landing,
spent the time while waiting for Gen.
Buell. in drilling and review.
WAS SHILOH a SURPRISE?
do not propose to discuss this feature
of the subject, but will narrate as accu-
rately as possible events that occurred be-
tween April ! and 6 and leave the reader
to form his own conclusions. March 81.
1862, there was a skirmish on the Purdy
i H. n
report:
"Crump's Landing, Tenn, April /, 1862
Sir: | inclose u report of skirmish be-
tween our picket at Adamsvilie and a
small body of the rebels, which resulted
unfortunately for us.
LEW WALLACE,
General Third Division"
Capt. John A. Rawlins, Assistant Adj
jutant- General"
April 1, 1862, an expedition started from
Pittsburg Landing, Tenn, to Eastport,
Miss, and Chickasaw, Ala. This exped-
ton consisted of one section OF Munch's
Minnesota Battery, a detachment of the
9Th Ohio. Cav. of $50 men, under Mai
Kicker, and two battalions of infantry
from the 57th and nth Ohio, under the
command of Coils. Hildebrand and Mum
gen, under convoy of gunboatS Tyler and
points where on n former visit of the gun
boats the enemy's batteries were found
In this order all followed, till it was dem
onstrated that all the enemy's batteries,
including that at Chickasaw, were aban-
doned.
Infantry scouts sent out by Col Hide
brand found the enemy's cavalry watching
the road to Iuka, about two miles back
of Eastport. | could obtain no certain
information as to the strength of the en-
envy at Iuka. Our object being to dis
lodge the enemy from the batteries recent
ly erected near EastpOrt, and this being
attained, l have returned and report the
river clear to and beyond Chickasaw.-
Extract from Sherman's Report
Headquarters District of West Tennes-
see Savannah, Tenn, April 8, 1862
Captain: Enclosed herewith | send Won
report Of Col. Webster, Chief of Staff.
who accompanied the gunboats I'D the
river, with the view of determining the
practicability of destroying the railroad
east Of Corinth without special danger Of
bringing on an engagement. There will be
no great difficulty in going any place with
the army now concentrated here. but n
battle will necessarily ensue at any point
on the railroad touched. a dispatch from
the telegraph operator just in. He states
Gen. Nelson has arrived in sight. Moth
ing is learned from Corinth very reliable.
Deserters occasionally come in, but all
that can be learned from them that is re-
liable is the force there is large and in
cTeaSIhS' g.lf