From Fort Henry to Corinth

by M. F. Force

Three companies of the Twenty-fifth Missouri, which regiment formed the right of Colonel Peabody's brigade, Prentiss' division, were sent out on reconnoissance about three o'clock in the morning of Sunday, April 6th. Following the road cautiously in a south-westerly direction, oblique to the line of the camp, they struck the enemy's pickets in front of General Sherman's division. General Johnston, at breakfast with his staff, hearing the fire of the encounter, turned to Colonel Preston and to Captain Munford, and directed them to note the hour in their blank books. It was just fourteen minutes after five o'clock.

Order was given to advance. To communicate the order along the line required time. General Beauregard says the advance began at half-past five. The three companies struck a battalion under Major Hardcastle, on Hardee's picket-line. Major Hardcastle was posted on picket with a battalion of the Third Mississippi, a quarter of a mile in front of Wood's brigade, Hardee's corps. Lieutenant McNulty was posted with a small party, one hundred yards, and Lieutenant Hammock with another small party, two hundred yards, in front of the centre of the battalion. Cavalry videttes were still farther to the front. The Major reports: "About dawn, the cavalry videttes fired three shots, wheeled and galloped back. Lieutenant Hammock suffered the enemy to approach within ninety yards. Their line seemed to be three hundred and fifty yards long, and to number about one thousand. He fired upon them and joined his battalion with his men. Lieutenant McNulty received the enemy with his fire at about one hundred yards, and then joined his battalion with his men, when the videttes rode back to my main position. At the first alarm my men were in line and all ready. I was on a rise of ground, men kneeling. The enemy opened a heavy fire on us at a distance of about two hundred yards, but most of the shots passed over us. We returned the fire immediately and kept it up. Captain Clare, aide to General Wood, came and encouraged us. We fought the enemy an hour or more, without giving an inch. Our loss in this engagement was: killed, four privates; severely wounded, one sergeant, one corporal, and eight privates; slightly wounded, the color-sergeant and nine privates. At about 6.30 A.M. I saw the brigade formed in my rear, and I fell back."

At six o'clock, Colonel Moore, of the Twenty-first Missouri, also of Peabody's brigade, was directed by General Prentiss to move out with five companies to support the pickets. About half a mile from camp he met the three companies of the Twenty-fifth returning. Despatching the wounded on to camp, and sending for the rest of his regiment, he halted with the detachment of the Twenty-fifth till joined by his remaining five companies. So reinforced, he continued his advance three hundred yards, met the advance of Shaver's brigade, halted on the edge of a field, and repulsed it. Colonel Moore being wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel Van Horn took command, and was further reinforced; after an engagement of half an hour, was overpowered and fell back to the support of the brigade.

According to General Bragg's report, Johnston's line of battle, after marching less than a mile beyond the scene of the first attack made by the three companies of the Twenty-fifth Missouri, came upon the strengthened National pickets, which he calls advanced posts. These fell back fighting. The army advanced steadily another mile, pushing back the fighting pickets, and then encountered the National troops "in strong force almost along the entire line. His batteries were posted on eminences, with strong infantry supports. Finding the first line was now unequal to the work before it, being weakened by extension, and necessarily broken by the nature of the ground, I ordered my whole force to move up steadily and promptly to its support."

Thus opened the battle of Shiloh. A combat made up of numberless separate encounters of detached portions of broken lines, continually shifting position and changing direction in the forest and across ravines, filling an entire day, is almost incapable of a connected narrative. As the first shock of the meeting lines of battle was near the right of the National line, an intelligible account may be given by describing the action of the divisions of Grant's army separately, beginning with the right, or Sherman's.

The direction of General Johnston's advance was such as to bring him first in contact with Sherman's left and Prentiss's right. To preserve even an approximate alignment of a line of battle of two miles front, marching with artillery, through wet forest, over rough, yet soft ground, with regiments in column doubled on the centre, the advance was necessarily slow. The reports show that portions of the second line, instead of keeping the prescribed distance of eight hundred yards in rear of the first, overtook it, and had to halt to regain the distance. The National pickets, posted a mile in front of the camps, were struck about half-past six o'clock Colonel J. Thompson, aide-de-camp to General Beauregard, in his report to his chief, says: "The first cannon was discharged on our left at seven o'clock, which was followed by a rapid discharge of musketry. About 7.30 I rode forward with Colonel Jordan to the front, to ascertain how the battle was going. Then I learned from General Johnston that General Hardee's line was within half a mile of the enemy's camps, and bore from General Johnston a message that he advised sending forward strong reinforcements to our left. From eight o'clock to 8.30 the cannonading was very heavy along the whole line, but especially in the centre, which was in the line of their camps. About ten o'clock you moved forward with your staff and halted within about half a mile of the enemy's camps."

The Field of Shiloh.

SHERMAN'S DIVISION.