Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862

by O. Edward Cunningham, Gary D. Joiner (Editor), Timothy B. Smith (Editor)

Overview

“May well be the best, most perceptive and authoritative account of the Battle of Shiloh.” —The Weekly Standard

The bloody and decisive two-day battle of Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862 changed the entire course of the American Civil War. The stunning Northern victory thrust Union commander Ulysses S. Grant into the national spotlight, claimed the life of Confederate commander Albert S. Johnston, and forever buried the notion that the Civil War would be a short conflict.

The conflagration had its roots in the strong Union advance during the winter of 1861-1862 that resulted in the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee. The offensive collapsed General Johnston’s advanced line in Kentucky and forced him to withdraw all the way to northern Mississippi. Anxious to attack the enemy, Johnston began concentrating Southern forces at Corinth, a major railroad center just below the Tennessee border. His bold plan called for his Army of the Mississippi to march north and destroy General Grant’s Army of the Tennessee before it could link up with another Union army on the way to join him.

On the morning of April 6, Johnston boasted to his subordinates, “Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee!” They nearly did so. Johnston’s sweeping attack hit the unsuspecting Federal camps at Pittsburg Landing and routed the enemy from position after position as they fell back toward the Tennessee River. Johnston’s death in the Peach Orchard, however, coupled with stubborn Federal resistance, widespread confusion, and Grant’s dogged determination to hold the field, saved the Union army from destruction. The arrival of General Don C. Buell’s reinforcements that night turned the tide of battle. The next day, Grant seized the initiative and attacked, driving the Confederates from the field. Shiloh was one of the bloodiest battles of the entire war, with nearly 24,000 killed, wounded, and missing.

Edward Cunningham, a young Ph.D. candidate, researched and wrote Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 in 1966. Though it remained unpublished, many Shiloh experts and park rangers consider it the best overall examination of the battle ever written. Indeed, Shiloh historiography is just now catching up with Cunningham, who was decades ahead of modern scholarship. Now, Western Civil War historians Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith have resurrected this beautifully written, deeply researched manuscript from undeserved obscurity. Fully edited and richly annotated with updated citations and observations, original maps, and a complete order of battle and table of losses, it represents battle history at its finest.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611210231
Publisher:	Savas Beatie
Publication date:	05/20/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	520
Sales rank:	462,773
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Edward Cunningham, Ph.D., studied under T. Harry Williams at Louisiana State University. He was the author of The Port Hudson Campaign: 1862-1863 (LSU, 1963). Dr. Cunningham died in 1997.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 Along the Rivers 1

Chapter 2 Lincoln Takes a Hand 23

Chapter 3 Breaking the River Barriers 43

Chapter 4 General Halleck Intervenes 69

Chapter 5 The Armies Gather 91

Chapter 6 The March to Shiloh 115

Chapter 7 Surprise 143

Chapter 8 Around Shiloh Church 165

Chapter 9 The Battle Spreads 191

Chapter 10 The Crossroads 219

Chapter 11 Hornet's Nest 247

Chapter 12 Retreat 277

Chapter 13 Last Stand 305

Chapter 14 Buell, Grant, and Beauregard 329

Chapter 15 Victory? 353

Chapter 16 Corinth 379

Appendix 1 Organization of the Confederate Army 397

Appendix 2 Organization of the Union Army 407

Appendix 3 Casualties at the Battle of Shiloh 421

Appendix 4 Photo Tour of Shiloh 425

Bibliography 438

Index 455

Interview with the Editors 477

Editorial Reviews

...an excellent scholarly work about the pivotal Shiloh Campaign.

Collecting Miscellany

...it may well be the best, most perceptive and authoritative account of the Battle of Shiloh.

The Weekly Standard

With their sparkling introductory essay, editors Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith give readers ample reason to want to read O.Edward Sullivan's 1966 dissertation....Anyone with a serious interest in the early Western theater campaigns and the Battle of Shiloh will find this book essential reading. Casual readers will likely enjoy it as well (not something you can often say about a dissertation).
—A Wagenhoffer

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