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THE BATTLE OF SHILOH.

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FORT) WHERE THE HAMBURG ROAD CROSSES LICK CREEK, LOOKING FROM COLONEL STUART’SPOSITION ON THE FEDERAL LEFT.

Lick Creek at this point was fordable on tlie first day of the battle, but the rains on Sunday night rendered

it impassable on the second day.

poor, bushes had grown up, some to the height of eight or ten feet. Therewas not one of these left standing unpierced by Indicts. The smaller oneswere all cut down.

Contrary to all my experience up to that time, and to the experience of thearmy I was then commanding, we were on the defensive. We were withoutintrenchments or defensive advantages of any sort, and more than half thearmy engaged the first day was without experience or even drill as soldiers.The officers with them, except the division commanders, and possibly two orthree of the brigade commanders, were equally inexperienced in war. Theresult was a Union victory that gave the men who achieved it great con-fidence in themselves ever after.

The enemy fought bravely, but they had started out to defeat and destroyan army and capture a position. They failed in both, with very heavy loss inkilled and wounded, and must have gone back discouraged and convincedthat the “ Yankee ” was not an enemy to be despised.

After the battle I gave verbal instructions to division commanders to letthe regiments send out parties to bury their own dead, and to detail parties,under commissioned officers from each division, to bury the Confederatedead in their respective fronts, and to report the numbers so buried. Thelatter part of these instructions was not carried out by all; but they were