From Fort Henry to Corinth

by M. F. Force

Jackson's brigade, of Withers' division, when it recoiled from its fatal attack on Hurlbut and the reserve artillery, went to pieces. Jackson with the battery marched to Shiloh Church and reported to General Beauregard. He saw nothing more of his brigade till he rejoined it at Corinth. Chalmers, abandoning his vain assault, was astonished to find that the army had fallen back, leaving him alone. He fell back to the field where Prentiss surrendered, and there rested. Of the remaining brigade, Gladden's, the merest fragment cohered; this little band, or detachment, bivouacked near the Hamburg road. Trabue's brigade, except one regiment which had become separated, spent the night in the tents of McDowell's brigade camp; Breckenridge's other two brigades were between Shiloh Church and the river.

Of General Polk's command, Clark's division, though partially scattered, rested, the greater portion of it, between Breckenridge and Shiloh Church. The other division, Cheatham's, which remained the freshest and least disordered command in Beauregard's army, moved off the field; and, accompanied by General Polk and one regiment of Clark's division, marched back to its camp of Saturday night.

Of Hardee's corps, so much of Cleburne's brigade as remained with him, slept in Prentiss' camp; Wood's brigade slept in McClernand's camp; Shaver's brigade was disintegrated and dissipated.

In the National army, what men were left of Prentiss' division were gathered about the landing and with Hurlbut. The regiments of W.H.L. Wallace that had escaped capture returned to their division camp. Hurlbut after dark moved his division out to the front of the reserve artillery. Being relieved by General Nelson, he formed his line with its left near the reserve artillery and the right near McClernand. McClernand's command bivouacked along the eastern face of the camp-ground of W.H.L. Wallace's division. Sherman's left joined McClernand; his right, Buckland's brigade, lay along the field at the south flank of McArthur's brigade camp, and along the east bank of the ravine of Brier Creek. Stuart's brigade, the Fortieth Illinois of McDowell's brigade, and the Forty-eighth Ohio of Buckland's brigade spent the night near the reserve artillery.

Captain Baxter, of General Grant's staff, brought to Lewis Wallace at eleven or half-past eleven, a verbal order to move his division. The First Brigade had already moved out to Stony Lonesome, and the division was ready to march. General Wallace believed the attack at Pittsburg was a feint, and that the real attack was to be made at Crump's Landing, on account of the great accumulation of stores at that point, and desired the order requiring him to move away from Crump's Landing should be in writing. Captain Baxter wrote and gave him an order to march to the Purdy road, form there on Sherman's right, and then act as circumstances should require. The two brigades at Stony Lonesome were at once put in motion. When the head of the division had just reached Snake Creek, not much more than a mile in an air-line from the right of Sherman's camp, Captain Rowley came up and informed Wallace of the state of affairs, and that the National line had fallen back. Wallace countermarched the two brigades to keep his right in front, retraced his steps (being joined on the way by Major Rawlins, Grant's adjutant, and by Colonel McPherson) the greater part of the way to Stony Lonesome, and there took a rude cross-road which came into the river road from Crump's to Pittsburg Landing, about a mile from the bridge which had been guarded for his approach. McPherson and Rawlins confirmed Captain Rowley's statement of the disastrous falling back of the National lines toward the river. The wagons were not allowed to accompany the column, but continued on through Stony Lonesome to Crump's Landing, and the Fifty-sixth Ohio, and one gun from Thurber's battery were detached to guard them. Whittlesey's brigade, at Adamsville, received at two o'clock the order to march. Sending the wagons with the Sixty-eighth Ohio as guard to Crump's Landing, the remaining three regiments pushed through the mud, the field officers dismounting to let broken-down men ride, and overtook the other brigades as they were beginning to cross Snake Creek. The Twenty-fourth Indiana in advance, crossing the bridge just after sunset, deployed skirmishers in front, marched along the road along the east bank of Brier Creek, and halted in front of the camp of the Fourteenth Missouri, which regiment was occupying its camp. The Twentieth Ohio, the rear regiment of the division, halted on the bank of Brier Creek ravine, in front of the camp of the Eighty-first Ohio, at eight o'clock. The division facing to the right, making a front to the west, along the ravine, brought the Twenty-fourth Indiana to the left and the Twentieth Ohio to the right of the division. The batteries having been left at the junction of the cross-road and the river road, till all the infantry had crossed, followed in their rear, and were posted near the bank.

The remainder of Nelson's division followed Ammen's brigade late in the evening. Crittenden's division arrived in the night. McCook receiving orders to hasten forward in the morning, while twelve miles out from Savannah, halted at the outskirts of the village at seven o'clock P.M., rested his men two hours, marched to the landing, seized such boats as were there and such as arrived, and reached Pittsburg Landing at five o'clock Monday morning with Rousseau's brigade and one regiment of Kirk's brigade.

General Grant and General Buell met at Sherman's headquarters in the evening; it was there agreed that Buell with his army should in the morning attack on the left, and Grant's immediate command should attack on the right. Buell formed Nelson's division about two hundred yards in front of the reserve artillery, with his left near the river, facing south. Crittenden, when he arrived, was placed in rear of Nelson, half a mile from the landing, where his command stood at arms all night. At eleven o'clock a heavy rain began to pour. All the National troops and most of the Confederate lay on the ground without shelter. The gunboats every fifteen minutes through the night fired a shell over the woods, to explode far inland and banish sleep.

Early Monday morning, Nelson on the extreme left, on the Hamburg road, and Lewis Wallace on the extreme right, by Snake Creek, moved to the attack. Beauregard knew then that Buell had arrived and the junction of the two National armies had been effected. The opening of the battle proclaimed what the conclusion would be.

Nelson moved in line with Ammen's brigade on the left, Bruce's in the centre, and Hazen's on the right, his left extending a little beyond the Hamburg road towards the river. A remnant of Gladden's brigade, between two and three hundred men, under Colonel Deas, some fragments of some of the regiments of Jackson's brigade, with some regiments that had strayed from their proper commands, the Fourth Kentucky from Trabue's brigade, the First Tennessee from Stephens' brigade, the One Hundred and Fifty-fourth Tennessee from General B.R. Johnson's brigade, and the Crescent Regiment from Pond's brigade, scattered about, were roused by Nelson's advance and retired before it. At six o'clock Nelson was halted by Buell to allow Crittenden's division to complete its deployment and form on Nelson's right. Nelson again advanced. General Withers meanwhile had thrown the heterogeneous fragments into an organized force, added Chalmers' brigade to it, and strengthened it by the addition of three batteries. Nelson, when he again advanced, came upon this consolidated line, which drove him back. Nelson was without artillery. His batteries, unable to get through the soft mud which the infantry traversed, remained behind at Savannah. General Buell sent to his aid Mendenhall's battery from Crittenden's division. The rapid and accurate fire of Mendenhall's guns silenced the central opposing battery. Hazen's brigade charged upon it, captured the guns and drove in retreat the cannoneers and their support. Bowen's brigade of Breckenridge's reserve corps, commanded by Colonel Martin since General Bowen was wounded Sunday afternoon, was coming up in support. Colonel Martin made his brigade lie down in a ravine till the torrent of fugitives passed over, then rising, charged the pursuers. Hazen's brigade, torn by the fire of two batteries, one on each flank, and now charged by a fresh brigade, suffered in a short time more than half the whole loss suffered by the division in the entire day. The loss of the division in killed and wounded, was 90 killed and 558 wounded. The Forty-first Ohio, in Hazen's brigade, out of a total engaged of 371, lost 140 killed and wounded. The shattered regiments streamed back in confusion, leaving a gap in the division line.

Ammen's brigade was sorely pressed. Constituting the left of the army, it was in constant risk of being turned. Bruce's brigade, now put in hazard by the recession of Hazen, could give only indirect assistance to Ammen. Just then, Terrill's regular battery, of four twelve-pounders (Napoleons) and two ten-pound Parrotts, having arrived from Savannah, and missed its way to McCook's division, was ordered by General Buell to Nelson's relief. Dashing out to the skirmish line in front of Colonel Ammen, in order to get the range of the enemy's batteries, Terrill's guns became the target of the concentrated fire of the opposing batteries and the line of infantry. He was compelled to retire; but, firing as he retired, he kept at a distance the long line that followed and essayed to charge. Colonel Tuttle, who had been marching what was left of W.H.L. Wallace's division in reserve, in rear of Nelson and Crittenden, sent the Second Iowa forward in aid of Terrill. At the same time the Fortieth Illinois, of McDowell's brigade, Sherman's division, which had been marching in reserve to Nelson, filed to the front around Ammen's left flank, and the Confederate line retired to their position in the timber. Ammen's line, which fell back under the galling fire called out by Terrill's artillery charge, now returned to the front and occupied the timber where the enemy had been. It was now nearly two o'clock. There was no more fighting in Nelson's front. Terrill's battery suffered so severely that the Sixth Ohio was detailed as its special support, and supplied artillerists from its ranks. From an advanced position in Nelson's front, upon his skirmish line, this battery succeeded in opening an enfilading fire upon the troops in front of McCook, and one section advanced far enough to take in reverse the batteries that were engaged with Crittenden and McCook.