Fighting Consumes Bell's Farm

At the time of the battle, the fields and woods in this area were part of the Widow Sarah Bell's farm. This sector of the Union line, under the command of General Stephen A. Hurlbut, ran parallel with the far side of the peach orchard and extended along both sides of the Hamburg-Savannah Road. Beginning in the late morning, the Confederate right, under the personal command of General Albert Sidney Johnston, tried to dislodge Hurlbut, making several futile attempts to cross the large cotton field beyond the orchard. After three hours of intense fighting, a massive Confederate attack, during which Johnston was fatally wounded, finally forced the Union left to retire into the woods, though one brigade retired to Pittsburg Landing. Heavy fighting continued for two more hours until Hurlbut again was forced to retire back through his camps toward Pittsburg Landing. The Confederates on this front then moved against the Federals defending the Hornets' Nest, while Union troops under Prentiss and W.H.L. Wallace continued to hold as Hurlbut withdrew.

Shiloh, Tennessee · United States