USA > Pennsylvania > York County > Shiloh > The Seventy-seventh Pennsylvania at Shiloh. History of the regiment. The battle of Shiloh > Part 22
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The corps of Generals Polk and Breckinridge were formed in column by brigades in rear of the second line. Wharton's and Brewer's cavalry were on the left flank, guarding the roads toward Stantonville. Clanton's cavalry was on the right front. Avery's. Forrest's and Adam's cavalry at Greer's Ford on Lick creek. Other cavalry organizations were at- tached to the different corps.
General Johnston's headquarters were established at the forks of the Bark and Pittsburg roads.
Pickets were sent out from the first line. The Third Mis- sissippi. commanded by Major Hardcastle, was on such duty in front of Wood's brigade. his reserve post, at the corner where Wood's and Fraley's fields join.
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THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
During the Confederate advance from Monterey on the third there had been skirmishing between the cavalry of the two armies, and on the fourth one of Buckland's picket posts was captured. Buckland sent out two companies in pursuit
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of the captors. These companies were attacked and sur- rounded by Confederate cavalry, but were rescued by Buck- land coming to their relief with his whole regiment. On Sat- urday Generals Prentis and Sherman each sent out recon- noitering parties to the front. Neither of these parties de- veloped the enemy in force, but reported such evidences of cavalry, that pickets of both divisions were doubled, and Gen- eral Prentiss, being still apprehensive of attack, sent out at three o'clock Sunday morning three companies of the Twenty- fifth Missouri, under Major Powell of that regiment, to again reconnoiter well to the front.
Major Powell marched to the right and front, passing be- tween the Rhea and Seay fields, and at 4.55 A. M. struck Hard- castle's pickets and received their fire. The fire was returned by Powell and a sharp engagement was had between these outposts, continuing, as Hardcastle says, one hour and a half, until 6.30 A. M., when he saw his brigade formed in his rear and fell back to his place in line.
Wood's brigade. advancing, drove Powell back to the Seay field, where he was re-inforced by four companies of the Six- teenth Wisconsin, that had been on picket near by. and by five companies of the Twenty-first Missouri under Colonel Moore, who at once took command and sent back to camp for the remainder of his regiment.
This force, fighting and retreating slowly, was re-inforced at southeast corner of the Rhea field by all of Peabody's bri- gade. Peabody succeeded in holding the Confederates in check until eight o'clock, when he fell back to the line of his camp. closely followed by Shaver's brigade and the right of Wood's brigade.
While Peabody's brigade was thus engaged. General Pren- tiss had advanced Miller's brigade to the south side of Spain . field. and placed Hickenlooper's battery to the left and Munch's battery to the right of the Eastern Corinthi road. In this position he was attacked by Gladden's brigade and by the left of Chalmer's brigade, that had advanced to the front line. These Confederate brigades, after a stubborn fight, in which Gladden was mortally wounded, drove Miller back to bis live of camps at the same time that Peabody was driven back to his. In their several camps Prentiss formed his regi-
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ments again and was vigorously attacked by Gladden's and Shaver's brigades, assisted on the left by a part of Wood's bri- gade, and on the right by Chalmers.
At nine o'clock Prentiss was driven from his second posi- tion with the loss of the entire division camp, two guns of Hickenlooper's battery, and many killed and wounded left on the field. Among the killed was Colonel Peabody, the com- mander of the First Brigade of Prentiss's division.
While the right of Hardee's line was engaged with Pren- tiss his left had attacked the brigades of Hildebrand and Buckland, of Sherman's division. These brigades had formed in line in front of their camps and behind Shiloh Branch, with Barrett's battery at Shiloh Church and Waterhouse's battery to the left. behind the camp of the Fifty-third Ohio. The Third Brigade of MeClernand's division was brought up and formed in support of Sherman's left flank and of Water- house's battery. In the Confederate advance the left of Wood's brigade had been slightly engaged with the Fifty- third Ohio, which easily gave way, when. Wood obliqued to the right, to avoid Waterhouse's battery, and, following Prentiss, passed the left flank of Hildebrand's brigade. then left wheeled to the attack of . McClernand's Third Brigade. Cleburne's brigade, in attempting to cross the marshy ground of Shiloh Branch, received the concentrated fire of the Third and Fourth brigades of Sherman's division. and after two or three unsuccessful efforts to dislodge them, . in which his regiments lost very heavily-the Sixth Missis- sippi having over seventy per cent. killed and wounded-he was obliged to give place to 'Anderson's brigade of Bragg's corps, which was in like manner repulsed with severe. loss. Johnson's and Russell's brigades of Polk's corps now came up together. Russel on the right, overlapping Sherman's left, and Johnson to the left across the Corinth road. The reorganized parts of the brigades of Cleburne and Anderson joining Russell and Johnson, the four brigades, assisted by Wood's brigade, advanced, and at ten o'clock drove Sherman's two brigades, and the Third Brigade of MeClernand's divi- sion back across the Purdy road with the loss of three guns of Waterhouse's battery and of the camps of the three brigades. During the contest Confederate Generals Clark,
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commanding a division, and Johnson, commanding a brigade, were severely wounded, and Colonel Raith, commanding Mc- Clernand's Third Brigade, was mortally wounded. The cap- ture of the three guns of Waterhouse's battery is claimed by the Thirteenth Tennessee of Russell's brigade, and General Polk seems to concede the claim, though it appears that sev- eral regiments were attacking the battery from the front when the Thirteenth Tennessee moved by the right flank and . approaching the battery from its left rear reached it before those from the front. General Vaughan, of the Thirteenth Tennessee, says that when his regiment reached these guns a dead Union officer lay near them, and keeping guard over his body was a pointer dog that refused to allow the Confed- erates to approach the body.
Pond's brigade of Bragg's corps had engaged McDowell's brigade, in conjunction with Anderson's attack on Buckland. and had succeeded in gaining the brigade at McDowell's right flank but had not become seriously engaged when Sherman ordered McDowell to retire and form junction with. his Third and Fourth brigades which were then falling back from Shiloh Church. McDowell therefore abandoned his camp to Pond without a contest.
After the capture of Prentiss' camps Chalmer's and Jack- son's brigades from Bragg's corps were ordered to the right to attack the extreme left of the Union line. Preceded by Clanton's cavalry these brigades moved by the flank down the Bark road until the head of the column was at the swampy ground of Lick creek, then forming line of battle and placing Gage's and Girardey's batteries upon the bluff south of Locust Grove creek they compelled Stuart. who was without artillery, to leave his camp and form his lines to left and rear in. the timber. Here he held Chalmers in a fierce fight until about two o'clock when he fell back to the landing. abandoning the last of Sherman's camps. Jackson's attack, as he came across the creek. fell upon McArthur's brigade, consisting of the Ninth and Twelfth Illinois, supported on the left by the Fiftieth Illinois and by Willard's battery in the rear. Mc- Arthur, in a stubborn contest in which the Ninth Illinois lost sixty per cent. of the men engaged, held his ground until Jack-
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son was re-inforced by Bowen's brigade of Breckinridge's corps, when McArthur fell back.
When Sherman and Prentiss discovered that they were be- ing attacked by the Confederates in force they asked re-in- forcements from the divisions in their rear.
McClernand sent his third brigade to re-inforce Sherman's left, and Schwartz's battery to assist Buckland. He then formed his First and Second brigades along the Pittsburg road in front of his headquarters; Marsh's brigade, with Bur- row's battery on the right; Hare's brigade to the left behind the Review field; McAllister's battery at the northwest cor- ner of said field, and Dresser's battery at Water Oaks Pond. On this line the Third brigade rallied when it fell back from Sherman's line.
Veatch's brigade of Hurlbut's division was sent to re-in- force McClernand and formed behind Burrow's battery. Hurlbut marched his other brigades to the Peach Orchard and formed line of battle with William's brigade facing south and Lauman's brigade facing west. The batteries, Mann's, Ross' and Myer's, all in the field behind the infantry.
W. H. L. Wallace's First Brigade, commanded by Colonel Tuttle, moved out on the Eastern Corinth road and formed on the east side of the Duncan field in an old sunken road. McArthur's brigade was disunited. The Eighty-first Ohio and the Fourteenth Missouri were sent to guard the bridge over Snake creek; the Thirteenth Missouri to re-inforce Mc- Dowell's brigade and McArthur, in person with the Ninth and Twelfth Illinois and Willard's battery, went to the support of Stuart and formed on his right rear, and at the left of Hurlbut's division, just cast of the Peach Orchard. Of Sweeny's brigade, the Seventh and Fifty-eighth Illinois formed on Tuttle's right connecting it with MeClernand's left. The Fiftieth Illinois was sent to McArthur. The other regiments were held in reserve until about noon when the Eighth Iowa formed on Tuttle's left to fill a gap between Wal- lace and Prentiss. The Fifty-seventh Illinois went to the extreme left, and the Fifty-second Illinois reported to Mc- Clernand at his sixth position just east of Tilghman creek. Batteries D. H. and K. First Missouri Light Artillery, were placed along the ridge in rear of Tuttle. Prentiss rallied his
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broken division, not over eight hundred men, on Hurlbut's right connecting it with Wallace's left.
In the early morning, General Grant at Savannah heard the firing and directed General Nelson, of the Army of the Ohio, to march his division along the east bank of the Ten- nessee to the point opposite Pittsburg. Then, leaving a re- quest for General Buell to hurry his troops forward as rapidly as possible, he hastened by boat to join his army. Arriving upon the field at about the time that Prentiss was driven from his camp, he immediately dispatched orders to General Lew. Wallace to bring his division to the battlefield. There has ever since been a dispute as to the terms of this order and the time of its delivery. It is admitted that General Wal- lace received an order, and that he started his command at about twelve o'clock by a road leading into the Hamburg and Purdy road west of the bridge over Owl creek on the right of Sherman's camps. This bridge was abandoned by McDowell and held by the Confederates at ten o'clock. An aide from General Grant overtook Wallace on this road about three o'clock and turned him back to the Savannah and Hamburg, or river road, by which he reached the battlefield about seven o'clock P. M.
In the movements of the Confederate troops in the morning Gibson's brigade of Bragg's corps had followed Shaver's brigade and had halted just inside the line of camps. This had separated Gibson from Anderson by the length of a brigade; into this space Bragg directed Stephens' brigade, of Polk's corps, and it entered the line of camps in rear of Wood's brigade. Stewart's brigade, also of Polk's corps, was sent to the right and entered the line of camps in rear of Gladden's brigade.
When Prentiss was driven back General Johnston ordered his reserve into action by sending Trabue forward on the Pittsburg Landing road to Shiloh Church, while Bowen and Statham were moved down the Bark road and formed line of battle south of the Peach Orchard to the left rear of Jack- son and completing the line to where Gladden's brigade, now commanded by Adam, was resting near Prentiss' headquar- ters camp.
Following the capture of the guns of Waterhouse's bat-
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tery and the retreat of Sherman and Raith to the Purdy road, Wood's and Shaver's brigades, with Swett's battery, were ordered to left wheel. Stewart's brigade was sent by left flank along the rear of Peabody's camp to Wood's left where three of the regiments took their places in line, while the Fourth Tennessee, supported by the Twelfth Tennessee, from Russell's brigade, went into line between Wood's and Shaver's brigades. Stanford's battery took position in the camp of the Fourth Illinois Cavalry. JJoining this force on its left were the somewhat disorganized brigades of Cleburne, An- derson, Johnson and Russell. General Polk was personally directing their movements and led them forward, without waiting for perfect organization, in pursuit of Sherman's re- treating brigades. This combined force of seven brigades moved to the attack of McClernand and Sherman in their second position along the Pittsburg and Purdy road. The right of this attacking force, extending beyond McClernand's left, became engaged with W. H. L. Wallace's troops near Duncan House, while Stephen's brigade of Polk's corps en- gaged the left of Tuttle's brigade and Prentiss' division in the Hornets' Nest. At the same time Gladden attacked Lau- man on west side of the Peach Orchard. In these atacks Gen- erals Hindman and Wood were disabled, and the Confeder- ates in front of Wallace, Prentiss and Lauman were repulsed.
The attack upon McClernand and Sherman was successful, and drove these commands back to the center of Marsh's brigade camp, where they made a short stand at what Mc- Clernand calls his third line, and then retired to the field at the right of that camp, to the fourth line. The third and fourth brigades of Sherman's division retired to the landing, and his first brigade, McDowell's, took position on McCler- nand's right.
In the repulse of McClernand from his second and third line he had lost Burrow's entire battery of six guns, which was taken by Wood's brigade; also one gun of McAllister's battery, taken by the Fourth Tennessee, and two guns of Schwartz's battery and four guns of Dresser's battery; part of these, perhaps all. are claimed by the One Hundred and Fifty- fourth Tennessee.
Rallying in camp of Hare's brigade, McClernand, with Mc-
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Dowell's brigade on his right, checked the Confederate ad- vance, and then, by a united countercharge, at twelve o'clock, recovered his second brigade camp and his own headquarters, and captured Cobb's Kentucky battery. McClernand gives the Eleventh Iowa and the Eleventh and Twentieth Illionois the credit for the capture of this battery. In the forward movement the Sixth Iowa and the Forty-sixth Ohio of Me- Dowell's brigade, and Thirteenth Missouri of McArthur's brigade, became engaged with Trabue's Confederate brigade in a firece battle, of which Trabue says:
The combat here was a severe one. I fought the enemy an hour and a quarter, killing and wounding 400 or 500 of the Forty-sixth Ohio Infantry, as well as of another Ohio regiment, a Missouri regiment, and some Iowa * troops. * * I lost here many men and several officers.
The number killed, wounded_and missing of the Forty-sixth Ohio at the battle of Shiloh, both days, was 246. But of the three regiments opposed to Trabue there were 510 killed, wounded and missing; most of them were doubtless lost in this conflict. So that Trabue may not have seriously erred in his statement.
At the time that McClernand fell back from his second posi- tion, General Stewart took command of Wood's and Shaver's brigades, and with the Fourth Tennessee of his own brigade moved to the right and renewed the attack upon Tuttle and Prentiss. Meeting a severe repulse he withdrew at twelve o'clock, with the Fourth Tennessee, to the assistance of the force in front of McClernand. At the same time Shaver's and Wood's brigades retired for rest and ammunition, and Stephens' brigade moved to the right and joined Breckinridge south of the Peach Orchard.
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General Bragg then brought up Gibson's brigade, which had been resting near Peabody's camp. and sent it in four separ- ate charges against the position held by Prentiss and Tuttle. Gibson's brigade was shattered in their useless charges and retired from the field. While Bragg was directing these sev- eral movements. Generals Polk and Hardee had renewed the attack upon MeClernand and in a contest lasting two hours had driven him back once more to the camp of his First brigade where he maintained his position until two thirty P.
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M., when he fell back across the valley of Tilghman creek to his sixth line, abandoning the last of his camps.
About twelve o'clock General Johnston, having gotten his reserve in position south of the Peach Orchard, assumed per- sonal command of the right wing of his army and directed a combined forward movement, intending to break the Union left where Chalmers and Jackson had been engaged since about ten o'clock, in an unsuccessful fight with Stuart and McArthur. Bowen's brigade was sent to support Jackson and was closely followed, en échelon to the left, by Statham's, Stephens' and Gladden's brigades in an attack upon Hurl- but in the Peach Orchard. Stuart, hard pressed by Chalmers and threatened on the flank by Clanton's cavalry, was, as we have seen, the first to yield, and falling back left McArthur's flank exposed, compelling him and Hurlbut to fall back to the. north side of the Peach Orchard: As Hurlbut's First brigade fell back, Lauman's brigade on its right was transferred to the left of the division in support of McArthur. Hurlbut's divi- sion as then formed stood at a right angle with the line of Prentiss and Wallace.
At two thirty P. M., while personally directing the move- ment of his reserve, General Johnston was struck by a minie ball and almost instantly killed. The death of the Confeder- ate commander-in-chief caused a relaxation of effort on that flank until General Bragg, hearing of Jolinston's death, turned over the command at the center to General Ruggles and, re- pairing to the right, assumed command, and again ordered a forward movement.
General Ruggles, having noted the ineffectual efforts of Bragg to break the Union center, determined to concentrate artillery upon that point. He therefore assembled ten bat- teries and a section, sixty-two guns, and placed them in posi- tion along the west side of the Duncan field and northeast of the Review field. In support of these batteries he brought up portions of the brigades of Gibson, Shaver, Wood. Ander- son and Stewart with the Thirty-eighth Tennessee and Cres- cent regiment of Pond's brigade, and once more attacked the position so stubbornly held by Wallace and Prentiss. The concentrated fire of these sixty-two guns drove away the
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Union batteries, but was not able to rout the infantry from its sheltered position in the old road.
William Preston Johnston, in the Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston, gives this graphic description of the fight- ing at this point:
This portion of the Federal line was occupied by Wallace's division and by the remnants of Prentiss' division. Here behind a dense thicket on the crest of a hill was posted a strong force of as hardy troops as ever fought, almost perfectly protected by the conformation of the ground. To assail it an open field had to be passed, enfiladed by the fire of its batteries. It was nicknamed by the Confederates by that very mild metaphor, "The Hornets' Nest." No figure of speech would be too strong to express the deadly peril of an assault upon this natural fortress whose inaccessible barriers blazed for six hours with sheets of flame and whose infernal gates poured forth a murderous storm of shot and shell and musketry fire which no living thing could quell or even withstand. Brigade after brigade was led against it, but valor was of no avail. Hindman's brilliant brigades which had swept everything before them from the field were shivered into fragments and paralyzed for the remainder of the day. Stewart's regi- ments made fruitless assaults, but only to retire mangled from the field. . Bragg now ordered np Gibson's splendid brigade; it made a charge, but like the others recoiled and fell back. Bragg sent orders to charge again Four times the position was charged. Four times the assault proved unavailing, the brigade was repulsed. About half past 3 o'clock the struggle which had been going on for five hours with fitful violence was renewed with the utmost fury. Polk's and Bragg's corps, inter- mingled, were engaged in a death grapple with the sturdy commands of Wallace and Prentiss. * # General Ruggles judiciously collected all the artillery he could find, some eleven batteries, which he massed against the position. The opening of so heavy a fire and the simultaneous advance of the whole Confederate line resulted in confusion and then in defeat of Wallace and the surrender of Prentiss at about half past 5 o'clock. Each Confederate commander of division, brigade, and regiment. as his command pouneed upon the prey, believed it entitled to the eredit of the capture. Breckinbridge, Ruggles. Withers. Cheatham, and other divisions which helped to subdne these stubborn fighters each imagined his own the hardest part of the work.
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Generals Polk and Harder, with the commingled commands of the Confederate left, had followed McClernand in his re- treat across Tilghman creek and about four o'clock Hardee sent Pond with three of his regiments and Wharton's cavalry to attack the Union position upon the east side of this creek. In this attack the Confederates were repulsed with heavy loss, the Eighteenth Louisiana alone losing forty-two per
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· PITTSBURG LANDING, TENNESSEE
THE BATTERY OF 24-POUNDER SIEGE GUNS THAT FORMED A PART OF THE,"LAST LINE"ABOVE THE LANDING APRIL 6, 1862 COPY OF A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN A FEW DAYS AFTER THE BATTLE AND BEFORE THE GUNS HAD BEEN MOVED FROM THEIR BATTLE POSITION.
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cent. of those engaged. Pond retired to the west side of the creek and took no further part in the action of Sunday. Tra- bue and Russell, with some other detachments, renewed the attack, and at four thirty P. M. succeeded in driving MeCler- nand and Veatch back to the Hamburg road, then wheeled to the right against the exposed flank of W. H. L. Wallace's division. At the same time Bragg had forced back the Union left until McArthur and Hurlbut, seeing that they were in danger of being cut off from the landing, withdrew their forces, letting the whole of Bragg's forces upon the rear of Prentiss and Wallace, while Polk and Hardee were attacking them on their right flank and Ruggles was pounding them from the front. Wallace attempted to withdraw by the left flank, but in passing the lines. closing behind him, he was mortally wounded. Colonel Tuttle with two of his regiments succeeded in passing the lines while four of Wallace's regi- ments with the part of Prentiss' division were completely sur- rounded, and, after an ineffectual effort to force their way back to the landing, were compelled to surrender at five thirty P. M. The number of prisoners captured here and in previous engagements was 2,254 men and officers, about an equal num- ber from each division. General Prentiss and the mortally wounded General Wallace were both taken prisoners. but General Wallace was left on the field and was recovered by his friends next day, and died at Savannah, Tenn., four days later.
During the afternoon, Colonel Webster. chief of artillery, on General Grant's staff, had placed Madison's battery of siege guns in position about a quarter of a mile out from the landing, and then. as the other batteries came back from the front, placed them in position to the right and left of the siege guns. Hurbut's division as it came back was formed on the right of these guns; Stuart's brigade on the left; parts of Wallace's division and detached regiments formed in the rear and to the right of Hurlbut, connecting with McCler- nand's left. McClernand extended the line to Hamburg and Savannah road and along that road to near MeArthur's head- quarters, where Buckland's brigade of Sherman's division. with three regiments of McArthur's brigade, were holding the right which covered the bridge by which General Lew. Wal- lace was to arrive on the field.
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