The battle of Shiloh is also called the battle of Pittsburg landing. It has got its name from the meeting house which is 5 kilometers away from the Pittsburg landing on the Tennessee River. This battle was the costliest in the American history up till that time. This was fought between the union army of Tennessee who were helped by the army of Ohio and the army of Mississippi.

In April 1862 general Ulysses S. Grant with his army was encamped along the Tennessee River just north of the Mississippi border poised to strike a blow in the heartland of the south. Actually he was waiting for the Buell’s army to join him which was coming from the other side. General Johnston of the confederates has the different ideas. He with his troops decided to attack the Grants army before Buell could join him. The stage was set for the US bloodiest bloodshed.

On the morning of the April sixth general Johnston decided to attack the Grants army before the Buell could join him. The confederate army attacked at 6:00 a.m. in the morning of April 6th. The union arm was taken by surprise. Grant was surprised as well. Fierce battle was fought and the Union army fled backside towards the Tennessee River. Until the afternoon the confederates were looking quiet confident of their victory. But they were frustrated as well. This was because as the time passed by the resistance from Union army side went on increasing. Grant led the battle from the front. Suddenly the sun went down and the battle was suspended. The confederates were really frustrated and they were really shocked when they came to know that their general Johnston lost his life while leading the fight from the front. This was a major setback for them and they never thought of winning after that.

In the night the Buell’s army joined the Grant and as the sun came outside they attacked with the fresh 23000 soldiers. This was really a major setback for the confederates who were now without their general. The result was the same as you can guess. On the very second day of the fierce battle the confederates were defeated and the battle ended with the victory of the union army. Both sides lost more than 10000 soldiers and it was a set back for both of them. That is why it is said that none of them were clearly victorious.

This was really one of the bloodiest battles fought on the American soil. I do feel that as far as all the civil wars are considered this was one of the worst battles and really led to the loss of thousands of soldiers from both the side.

Tags: battle of Pittsburg landing, battle of shiloh, union army of tennessee