Charles River Editors - Civil War in 1862 The Battles that Saved Both the North and South

The Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862)

The turning point of our fate." Jefferson Davis on the death of Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh

Probably no single battle of the war gave rise to such wild and damaging reports. William Tecumseh Sherman

After Union General Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in early 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, widely considered the Confederacys best general, concentrated his forces in northern Georgia and prepared for a major offensive that culminated with the biggest battle of the war to that point, the Battle of Shiloh. On the morning of April 6, Johnston directed an all out attack on Grants army around Shiloh Church, and though Grants men had been encamped there, they had failed to create defensive fortifications or earthworks. They were also badly caught by surprise. With nearly 45,000 Confederates attacking, Johnstons army began to steadily push Grants men back toward the river.

As fate would have it, the Confederates may have been undone by friendly fire at Shiloh. Johnston advanced out ahead of his men on horseback while directing a charge near a peach orchard when he was hit in the lower leg by a bullet that historians now widely believe was fired by his own men. Nobody thought the wound was serious, including Johnston, who continued to aggressively lead his men and even sent his personal physician to treat wounded Union soldiers taken captive. But the bullet had clipped an artery, and shortly after being wounded Johnston began to feel faint in the saddle. With blood filling up his boot, Johnston unwittingly bled to death. The delay caused by his death, and the transfer of command to subordinate P.G.T. Beauregard, bought the Union defenders critical time on April 6, and the following day Grants reinforced army struck back and pushed the Confederate army off the field.

The Battle of Shiloh lasted two days, but the battle over the battle had just begun. Grants army had just won the biggest battle in the history of North America, with nearly 24,000 combined casualties among the Union and Confederate forces. Usually the winner of a major battle is hailed as a hero, but Grant was hardly a winner at Shiloh. The Battle of Shiloh took place before costlier battles at places like Antietam and Gettysburg, so the extent of the casualties at Shiloh shocked the nation. Moreover, at Shiloh the casualties were viewed as needless; Grant was pilloried for allowing the Confederates to take his forces by surprise, as well as the failure to build defensive earthworks and fortifications, which nearly resulted in a rout of his army. Speculation again arose that Grant had a drinking problem, and some even assumed he was drunk during the battle. Though the Union won, it was largely viewed that their success owed to the heroics of General Sherman in rallying the men and Don Carlos Buell arriving with his army, and General Buell was happy to receive the credit at Grants expense.

As a result of the Battle of Shiloh, Grant was demoted to second-in-command of all armies in his department, an utterly powerless position. And when word of what many considered a colossal blunder reached Washington, several congressmen insisted that Lincoln replace Grant in the field. Lincoln famously defended Grant, telling critics, I cant spare this man. He fights.

The Civil War in 1862 explains the campaign and events that led up to the decisive battle, what went right and wrong on both sides, and the aftermath of the battle. Accounts of the battle by important leaders like Sherman, Grant, and Braxton Bragg are included, along with analysis of the generals and fighting. Along with maps of the battle and pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Battle of Shiloh like you never have before.

The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas) (August 28-30, 1862)

A splendid army almost demoralized, millions of public property given up or destroyed, thousands of lives of our best men sacrificed for no purpose. I dare not trust myself to speak of this commander as I feel and believe. Suffice to say...that more insolence, superciliousness, ignorance, and pretentiousness were never combined in one man. Union II Corps Commander Alpheus Williams

The Second Battle of Bull Run (August 28-30, 1862) was one of the most decisive battles fought during the Civil War, and it was also one of the most unlikely. Less than three months before the battle, Joseph E. Johnstons Army of Northern Virginia had been pushed back nearly all the way to Richmond by George B. McClellans Army of the Potomac, so close that Union soldiers could see the church steeples of the Confederate capital. And yet, at the end of Second Manassas, Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia found itself in the field unopposed about 20 miles away from the Union capital of Washington D.C. How could such a remarkable reversal of fortunes take place so quickly?

After Lee succeeded the wounded Johnston, he pushed McClellans Army of the Potomac away from Richmond and back up the Peninsula in late June, only to then swing his army north to face a second Union army, John Popes Army of Virginia. Needing to strike out before the Army of the Potomac successfully sailed back to Washington and linked up with Popes army, Lee daringly split his army to threaten Popes supply lines, forcing Pope to fall back to Manassas to protect his flank and maintain his lines of communication. At the same time, it left half of Lees army (under Stonewall Jackson) potentially exposed against the larger Union army until the other wing (under James Longstreet) linked back up. Thus, in late August 1862, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of Virginia found themselves fighting over nearly the exact same land the South and North fought over in the First Battle of Bull Run 13 months earlier.

When Popes army fell back to Manassas to confront Jackson, his wing of Lees army dug in along a railroad trench and took a defensive stance. The battle began with the Union army throwing itself at Jackson the first two days. But the concentration on Stonewalls men opened up the Union armys left flank for Longstreets wing, which marched 30 miles in 24 hours to reach the battlefield by the late afternoon of August 29. Lee used Longstreets wing on August 30 to deliver a devastating flank attack before enough reinforcements from the retreating Army of the Potomac reached the field, sweeping Popes Army from Manassas and forcing the Union soldiers into yet another disorderly retreat from Manassas to Washington D.C., a scene eerily reminiscent of the First Battle of Bull Run.