The National tribune., 1901-05-02
HORNETS NEST.
Regiments Under Gen Prentiss Saved Grants
Entire Army.

EDITOR NATIONAL TRIBUNE: We are
all indebted to Comrade 4. w. Holman
for his graphic, and generally correct, ac>
count of the battle of Shiloh. 1t is q con-
tribution to the literature of the war that
fills long-felt want, and shows that he
has devoted Il good deal of time and abil-
ity TO the study of that battle, of which
Gen. Grant once said: 1.-The battle of
Shiich, or Pittsburg Landing, has been
perhaps less understood, or, to state the
case more accurately, more persistently
misunderstood, than any other engage
ment between National and Confederate
troops during the entire rebellion"
A3 printed, however, there is one error,
whether of the types, of Comrade Hol-
man, or of Gen. Prentiss, / will not at
tempt to say, that does not quite do jus.
tice to some of the troops engaged in that
"miX-up." He says, quoting Gen. Prem
tiss: Upon the fall of Gen. Wallace
CIV. III. H. his division, excepting the Sth
Iowa, Col. Shaw, acting with me, and the
18th Iowa, Col. Woods, and the 18th H.,
Col. Lynch, retired from the field" To
be correct, this should be as follows: Sth
Iowa, Col. Geddes; 14th Iowa, Col. Shaw;
18th Iowa, Col Woods; and 5Sth ILL.,, Col.
Lynch. OF these, the 10Th and 18th Iowa
belonged to Col. Tuttle's Brigade, and the
Sth Iowa and 5Sth Ill. belonged to the bril-
gade of Col. Sweeny. The Sth Iowa,
however, WAS lDT the udy from
| Col. Sweeny's Brigade and posted in the
interval between Gen. Premises right and
Col. Tuttle's Brigade, which brought them
fronting the enemy in the following or
der, from left TO right: Sth Iowa, 14th
Iowa, 18th Iowa, 1th Iowa and I'd Iowa;
on the right of the I'd Iowa, Sweeny' S
Brigade (without the Sth Iowa, of course),
the arrangement of which do not know.
OF the severe fighting in the Hornet S
Nest there are many still living who can
! bear ample testimony to the truth of Com
rade Holman's Statements and those of
us who, after being surrounded, fought
| under Gen. Prentiss to harass and retard
| the enemy long after all hope of escape
had gone, will perhaps always feel that,
| by holding the enemy there while the
other divisions of the Army of the Ten
nessee were reforming, and the divisions
of Gen. Buelfs army were arriving, they
were entitled to more credit than history
has ascribed them.
The map of the battlefield recently pub
lished by the War Department, founded
On reports of the commanding officers of
| both armies, National and Confederate,
and an accurate survey of the field made
| by an officer of the u. S. Army, is a
great help to correct understanding of
| the movements of the different detach-
ments of both armies on that famous
| field, as well as to q correct knowledge
of the location of the Hornets Nest, of
which there has been so much dispute.
The statements, made, perhaps, by
some correspondent who was no nearer
the field than Cairo, that men were bay
onetted while sleeping in their beds; that
some of the Federals fought in a costume
more fitted for the bed chamber than the
battlefield; that the surrender occurred
at 8 o'clock in the morning, while wholly
| and absolutely false and absurd, are on
| record, and are read and liable to be be-
lieved by those who do not pursue the
subject far enough to learn better. Had
these statements been true there would
have been no battle lasting until night,
and no Army of the Tennessee for Gen.
Buell. to reinforce.
| We hold that the men who fought in
] the Hornets Nest throughout the day and