Confederate Repulse

By mid-morning on the second day of the Battle of Shiloh, the combined Union armies of Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell had advanced across the battlefield, and Buell's center fought its way to this point, reclaiming ground lost the day before. Here, in Daniel Davis' wheat field, the Confederates struck back hard, catching the Federals in a deadly crossfire and driving them back. For two hours, fighting moved back and forth across the same ground. At noon, reinforced with men from Grant's army, Buell reclaimed the initiative and pressed steadily south in an advance Beauregard's right wing was unable to reverse. During this action, Sam Todd, Mary Todd Lincoln's half-brother, was fatally wounded, bringing the tragic impact of the battle even into the White House.

Shiloh, Tennessee · United States