2. On the morning of April 6,1862 40,000
confederate soldiers under Gen Albert Sidney
Johston Pourd out of a nearby woods and
struck a line of union soldiers occupying
Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. The
overpowering Confederate offensive drove the
unprepared Federal forces from their camps and
threatened to overwhelm Ulysses S. Grant’s
entire command. Some Federals made
determined stands and by afternoon, they had
established a battle line at the sunken road,
known as the “Hornet's Nest.
3. While there were more Union than Confederate
casualties, the Union won the battle. The battle of
Shiloh also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing
was a 2-day Civil War battle resulting in 23,746
casualties. Union casualties were 13,047 (1,754
killed, 8,408 wounded, and 2,885 missing); Grant's
army bore the brunt of the fighting over the two
days, with casualties of 1,513 killed, 6,601
wounded, and 2,830 missing or captured. Confederate
casualties were 10,699 (1,728 killed, 8,012
wounded, and 959 missing or captured).
5. Defeat seemed
certain, but Union
Brigadier General
Benjamin M. Prentiss
saved the day by holding
a sunken road some 3
feet deep. Thanks to the
tenacious fighting in that
area, it came to be
known as the Hornet’s
Nest.