Essay: Battle of Shiloh

Sample Essay

Introduction

War is definitely not a game, although Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, “upon hearing the sound of artillery fire on the morning of April 6, 1862, from his headquarters at the Cherry Mansion in Savannah, Tenn., said to his staff: ‘The ball is in motion. Let’s be off.’” [1]And one might consider the following similarities.

Both sides began the contest almost evenly matched in size, strength and spirit. The field was roughly rectangular, running northeast to southwest, with the battle fought exclusively in that area. There were good and bad coaching decisions and the South had a coaching change midway through the first half. Both sides applied strategy and tactics to the contest, and there were many individual acts of heroism. In the end, those “fresh bench players” for the North proved to be the difference between defeat and victory.

The Battle

“The Battle of Shiloh was battled on April 6-7 in the year 1862”[2]. It is one of the most recalled battles in the classes of Civil Wars, but possibly one of the least tacit. The benchmark literature on the battle goes on to narrate that Union armies were shocked in their bivouacs at dawn on April 6. “Defeat appeared certain; however, General Benjamin M. Prentiss kept the date by retaining a hollow street which had around three feet of depth”[3]. Since this street commenced most of its fights in lieu of the battle, this street came to be renowned as the Hornet’s Nest.

[1] Bergeron, Paul H, Stephen V Ash, and Jeanette Keith. Tennesseans and Their History. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1999.

[2] WILLIAMS, FRANK J. Ulysses S. Grant Association: About The Association. March 12, 2009. http://library.msstate.edu/USGrant/ (accessed April 24, 2010).

[3] WILLIAMS, 2

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