After the February 1862 Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, Gen. Don Carlos Buell's army occupied Nashville while Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's army advanced to Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. Buell and Grant planned to attack the rail center of Corinth, Mississippi, but on April 6, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston struck first at Shiloh. The battle was a near Confederate victory on the first day, although Johnston was killed; on the second day, Grant's counterattack succeeded, and the Confederates retreated to Corinth. Shiloh was the war's bloodiest battle to that date, with almost 24,000 killed, wounded, or missing. By the afternoon of April 5, 1862, Johnston's army, delayed by mud and rain on its march from Corinth to attack Grant's army at Pittsburgh Landing, had taken far longer than expected, and some of his subordinates feared surprise had been lost. Near the intersection with Bark Road, Gens. Leonidas Polk, Braxton Bragg, and John C. Breckenridge heard Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard voice doubts about continuing the attack, but Johnston considered their advice and declared, "Gentlemen, we shall attack at daylight tomorrow," adding, "I would fight them if they were a million." He then spent the evening here, where his subordinates joined him to discuss the impending attack. The council ended about 10 P.M. with Johnston confident of victory, and he spread his blankets under a large tree to sleep as the rain ended and the night turned clear and cold. Before dawn, Johnston roused his staff, Beauregard arrived, and their discussion resumed until the sharp sound of musketry announced the opening of battle. Johnston responded, "The battle has opened, gentlemen, It is too late to change our dispositions," and as he turned to mount, he proclaimed, "Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River," then rode toward the dawn and the sound of battle with only hours to live.

Photo: Frederick Bothwell

Photo: Lee Hattabaugh

Photo: Lee Hattabaugh

Photo: Lee Hattabaugh

Photo: Brandon Fletcher

Photo: Lee Hattabaugh

Photo: Lee Hattabaugh

Childers Hill, Tennessee · USA