The Union armies did not attempt to harass the retreating Southern columns or attack them when they went into bivouac for the night. Instead, Grant’s troops, from the privates to the highest commanders, appear to have been content to return to their recaptured camps, while the Confederates returned to their former positions in and around Corinth to recruit and reorganize.
In explanation of his inactivity Grant said: “My force was too much fatigued from two days’ hard fighting and exposure in the open air to a drenching rain during the intervening night, to pursue immediately. Night closed in cloudy and with heavy rain, making roads impracticable for artillery by the next morning.”
The next morning, April 8, however, Gen. Thomas J. Wood, with his division, and Sherman, with two brigades and the 4th Illinois Cavalry, went in pursuit. Toward evening they came upon the Confederate rear guard at Fallen Timbers, about 6 miles from the battlefield. The Southern cavalry, commanded by Col. Nathan Bedford Forrest, charged the Federals, putting the skirmishers to flight and throwing the Union cavalry into confusion. The Confederates, pursuing too vigorously, came suddenly upon the main body of Federal infantry and were repulsed, after Colonel Forrest had been seriously wounded in the side. Before returning to camp, the Northerners tarried long enough to bury their 15 dead, gather up their 25 wounded, and find out that they had lost 75 as prisoners. The spirited action of the Confederate rear guard at Fallen Timbers put an end to all ideas of further pursuit by the Federals.
Results of the Battle
The losses on each side at Shiloh were unusually heavy. Grant’s army of 39,830 had been reinforced by 25,255 during the night between the 2 days’ battle, swelling the total number of Union troops engaged to 65,085, excluding a guard detachment of 1,727 men left at Crump’s Landing. Of that total number 1,754 were reported killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 missing; presenting an aggregate of 13,047 casualties.
The army under Generals Johnston and Beauregard had gone into battle with 43,968 men of all arms and condition. They received no reinforcements, except 731 men of Col. Munson R. Hill’s Tennessee Regiment who had reached the front unarmed and were furnished with arms and equipment picked up from the field. The Southerners lost 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 captured or missing, or a total of 10,699 casualties.
“Present” and “Casualties” at Shiloh
| Present for duty | Casualties | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Killed | Wounded | Missing | Total | ||
| UNION | |||||
| Army of the Tennessee (April 6) | 39,830 | 1,433 | 6,202 | 2,818 | 10,453 |
| Reinforcements (April 7) | |||||
| Army of the Tennessee | 7,337 | 80 | 399 | 12 | 491 |
| Army of the Ohio | 17,918 | 241 | 1,807 | 55 | 2,103 |
| Total Federals engaged[1] | 65,085 | 1,754 | 8,408 | 2,885 | 13,047 |
| CONFEDERATE | |||||
| Army of the Mississippi (April 6) | 43,968 | 1,728 | 8,012 | 959 | 10,699 |
| Reinforcements (April 7) | |||||
| Hill’s 47th Tennessee | 731 | ||||
| Total Confederates engaged | 44,699 | 1,728 | 8,012 | 959 | 10,699 |
| Grand Total | 109,784 | 3,482 | 16,420 | 3,844 | 23,746 |
[1]Does not include 1,727 troops left at Crump’s Landing as rear guard.
During the first few weeks following the battle, both sides claimed a victory. The Confederates based their claim upon the facts that they had inflicted an almost complete rout on the Federals on Sunday, April 6, and that they had been able to hold a part of the field until they withdrew in good order on Monday. Furthermore, they said, the Union armies were so battered that they were unable to pursue.