the Battle of Shiloh: A Captivating Guide to One Bloodiest Battles American Civil War

The Battle of Shiloh was fought along the Tennessee River near the border with Mississippi when the Confederates attempted to prevent the Union forces, who were led by future US president Ulysses S. Grant, from seizing the vital railroad junction at Corinth, Mississippi. When the battle began, the forces of the North and the South were equally matched on the battlefield, though the rebels knew they had to move fast in order to avoid the forces under Grant and Union General Don Carlos Buell from uniting on the west side of the Tennessee River. The battle began in the early light of April 6th, 1862, when Union scouts were surprised and stunned by the sight of over nine thousand Confederate troops heading straight for them.