Defeated Victory

At Shiloh on April 6, 1862, Confederate troops encircled and captured more than 2,250 Union troops in a victory that seemed great but was ultimately denied the Confederacy. In 1917, the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected a memorial to the South's "Lost Cause" centered on Frederick Hibbard's Defeated Victory. Its central figures show the Confederacy surrendering the laurel wreath of victory to Death and Night: Death took the Confederate commander-in-chief, while Night brought Union reinforcements. An infantryman lifts the Confederate flag in defiance of the United States Army, an artilleryman gazes through the smoke of battle, and a cavalryman spreads his hand in frustration at being unable to penetrate Shiloh's forest. A rear figure, representing the Confederate officer corps, bows his head over the failure to bring victory. The soldiers, their ranks reduced by the first day's deadly fighting, represent the second day's battle, and their faces show the sorrow of men who fought hard for victory and unexpectedly lost. General Albert Sidney Johnston, the Confederate commander at Shiloh, remains the highest-ranking American officer to die in combat. Eleven soldiers represent the eleven Confederate states and the spirit of the first day's battle, advancing exuberant, hopeful, courageous, and fearless into battle.

Shiloh, Tennessee · United States