THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.
469
Shiloh was a log meeting-house, some two or threemiles from Pittsburg Land-ing, and on the ridge whichdivides the waters of Snakeand Lick creeks, the formerentering into the Tennes-see just north of PittsburgLanding, and the lattersouth. Shiloh was the keyto our position, and washeld by Sherman. His di-vision was at that time
NEW SHILOH CHURCH, ON THE SITE OFTHE LOO CHAPEL WHICH WAS DE-STROYED AFTER THE BATTLE.
wholly raw, no part of itever having been in an en-gagement, but I thought thisdeficiency was more thanmade up by the superiorityof the commander. McCler-nand was on Sherman’sleft, with troops that hadbeen engaged at Fort D011-elson, and were thereforeveterans so far as Westerntroops had become suchat that stage of the war.
Next to McClernand camePrentiss, with a raw division,and on the extreme left,
Stuart, with one brigade of Sherman’s division. Hurlbut was in rear ofPrentiss, massed, and in reserve at the time of the onset. The division ofGeneral C. F. Smith was on the right, also in reserve. General Smith was
SHILOII SPRING, IN THE RAVINE SOUTH OF THE CHAPEL.FROM PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN IN 1884.
The spring is on the Confederate side of the ravine. Hard lightingtook place here, in the early morning of Sunday,between Sherman’s and Hardee’s troops.
start upon in the absence of orders to move by adifferent road.
The mistake he made, and which probablycaused his apparent dilatoriness, was that of ad-vancing some distance after he found that thefiring, which would be at first directly to his frontand then off to the left, had fallen back until it hadgot very much in rear of the position of his advance.This falling back had taken place before I sentGeneral Wallace orders to move up to Pittsburgh finding, and, naturally, my order was to follow theroad nearest the river. But my order was verbal,and to a staff-officer who was to deliver it to Gen-
eral Wallace , so that I am not competent to sayjust what order the general actually received.
General Wallace ’s division was stationed, theFirst Brigade at Crump’s Landing, the Second outtwo miles, and the Third two and a half miles out.Hearing the sounds of battle, General Wallace earlyordered his First and Third brigades to concen-trate on the Second. If the position of our fronthad not changed, the road which Wallace tookwould have been somewhat shorter to our rightthan the River road.