Battle of Shiloh

April 6–7, 1862 · Western Theater

Phases

1. 1April 6, Dawn — Surprise AttackApril 6, 1862 — 6:00 to 9:00 AM
2. 2Midday — The Hornet’s NestApril 6, 1862 — 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM
3. 3Evening — Grant’s Last LineApril 6, 1862 — 6:00 PM to Midnight
4. 4April 7 — The CounterattackApril 7, 1862 — Dawn to 4:00 PM

April 6, 1862 — 6:00 to 9:00 AM

Johnston’s army, marched up from Corinth undetected, storms out of the woods into Grant’s sleeping camps around Shiloh Church. The Union army — camped for drill, not defense, without entrenchments — is driven back through its own tents. Johnston has promised his officers: “Tonight we will water our horses in the Tennessee River.”

• ➤Hardee’s & Bragg’s Corps — Storm out of the woods into the sleeping camps
• ➤Polk & Breckinridge — The second and third waves press up the Corinth Road
• ●Sherman’s and Prentiss’s camps — driven back through their tents
• ●Shiloh Church — Sherman’s headquarters, overrun
• ●Pittsburg Landing — Grant’s base on the Tennessee