Battle of Shiloh  "The Hornets' Nest"  April 6-7, 1862

At 5:00 on Sunday morning of April 6, 1862, 40,000 Confederate soldiers in three battle lines were set in motion toward the unsuspecting Union camp at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. By 10:00am they had driven through the camps of three Union divisions, sending the surprised blue-clad soldiers reeling back toward the river. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss's Union division was pushed back almost a mile and took up a good defensive position on high ground along a sunken road. Other units formed on either side of it in an attempt to slow the Confederate onslaught. Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant looked over the new and ordered Prentiss to "maintain that position at all hazards."

The Rebel troops continued crashing and screaming through the woods. A Confederate attack led by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston broke through Union troops in the Peach Orchard on Prentiss's left, and the Rebels pushed back the troops on his right, leaving what was left of Prentiss's division without support. Charge after charge- 12 in all -was made against Prentiss's position, and each was repulsed with great slaughter. "It's a hornets' nest in there!" cried the Rebels, recoiling from the blasts of canister and rifle fire, and the name stuck.

By now Johnston had been killed, and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard took command of the Rebel forces. He massed 62 cannon at point-blank range and at about 4:00pm began a bombardment with shell and canister that was like "a mighty hurricane sweeping everything before it." The Hornets' Nest exploded under the fire, but still Prentiss and his men held on, their lines bending back into a horseshoe shape as more and more pressure was applied to their flanks. By 5:30 they were completely surrounded and being attacked on all sides. Unable to do any more to obey Grant's order, Prentiss ordered cease-fire and surrendered his remaining 2,200 men. However, his gallant defense had given Grant the time he needed to construct a new line to the rear.

Fascinating Fact: The 62 cannon massed at the Hornets' Nest was the largest concentration of artillery yet to be assembled in an American war. The Battle of Shiloh was the largest battle fought on American soil up to that time.


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