Battle-of-Shiloh

=**Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing)**= General Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in Cairo, Illinois. Ulysses S. Grant

He was ordered by General John C. Fremont (western theater commander) to demonstrate against Confederates under General Leonidas Polk instead of full engagement. Once President Lincoln removed Fremont from active duty, Grant and his undisciplined soldiers went on the offensive. Grant would lead his army to major victories over Confederate forts as he took Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Taking Fort Henry opened the Tennessee River to Union gunboats and victory at Fort Donelson opened the Cumberland River for the Union. Grant and his Army of the Tennessee were ready for a larger battle.

The Battle of Pea Ridge (Elkhorn Tavern) from March 6 to 8, 1862 was a victory by Union General Samuel Curtis (Army of the Southwest) over Confederate General Earl Van Dorn (Army of the West), which brought Missouri under Union control for the next two years. New western theater commander General Henry Halleck ordered Grant to move southward on the Tennessee River and attack Confederate railroads. Furthermore, Union General Don Carlos Buell and the Army of the Ohio was to link up with Grant and concentrate forces. Don Carlos Buell

Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston and the Army of Mississippi wanted to attack Grant before Buell arrived. Albert Sydney Johnston

The Union withstood Confederate assaults at the "Hornet's Nest," which gave the Union enough time to set up a strong line. Johnston was killed in the battle. The Confederate army would be taken over by General P.G.T. Beauregard. The Union would be stopped but not pushed back and won in the Battle of Shiloh. The Union went on to take Corinth and Memphis and Grant would win another battle at Chattanooga, which forced McClellan to act in the eastern theater. The Union would have control of Kentucky and take parts of Tennessee though fighting would go on in the western theater with the Confederates winning small victories.

Map showing Union victories of Grant over Polk in 1861 and in February 1862 at Fort Henry, which brought control of the Tennessee River to the Union and Fort Donelson, which brought control of the Cumberrland Rivier to the Union. Grant continued his push to control Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Mississippi River fighting the major Battle of Shiloh. Below shows the results of the Battle of Shiloh with Grant and Buell pushing the Confederates further through Tennessee defeating Beauregard, who took over for Johnston who was killed in battle.



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