End of a Long, Hard Day

On the first day of fighting, General Ulysses S. Grant's Union Army of the Tennessee suffered a disastrous reverse when an early Confederate tactical surprise overcame even determined resistance. Repeatedly, hastily formed Union defensive lines broke and casualties mounted, and although a few crucial stands and counterattacks bought time, they could not change the course of the battle. Around 2:30 pm, Grant ordered his chief of staff to oversee a reserve line defending Pittsburg Landing. At sunset, his bloodied army held this high ground, its last line stretching nearly two miles west-northwest from the river landing. Though Union reinforcements began to arrive, including Lew Wallace on Grant's right and Buell's army from the Tennessee River, darkness ended the fighting, and the line that was tested in the final minutes of daylight held against a last futile Confederate attack before the attackers retired for the night with Union prisoners.

Shiloh, Tennessee · United States