Today in History:

615 Series I Volume X-I Serial 10 - Shiloh Part I

Page 615 Chapter XXII. PITTSBURG LANDING, OR SHILOH, TENN.

Shortly before this, by order of General Beauregard, I had detached the Third Kentucky, Fourth Alabama Battalion, and Crews' Tennessee battalion, with Byrne's battery, to the right to support General Anderson, and in the engagement Lieutenant-colonel Anderson, commanding Third Kentucky, and Major Johnston, of the same, were wounded.

Captains Stone, Pearce, and Emerson; Lieutenant Bagwell, commanding company, and Acting Lieutenant White, of that regiment, were killed.

Captain Bowman, Adjutant McGoodwin, and Lieutenants Ross and Ridgeway were wounded; the adjutant severely.

My aide, Charlton Morgan, was also wounded here, and my volunteer aide, John Hooe, had his horse killed.

Not having been specially informed of the casualties that occurred here in the Alabama and Tennessee battalions and Byrne's battery, I am unable to speak definitely of them.

The examination which I made from the old field showed it to have been the scene of recent conflict, but at that time our lines there seemed to have been broken, and no troops of ours were in sight. I discovered also to my left and front two camps of the enemy still occupied by his troops, and I saw them also in the woods across the field in front of his camps. I immediately moved by the left flank to the left and confronted him. I had scarcely taken my new position-in fact was changing the front of the left wing-when he deployed before me. I opened my fire on him when he was thus employed, and soon received his in return. The combat here was a severe one, and lasted an hour and a quarter. I had only three regiments in line-the Fourth, Sixth, and Fifth Kentucky-the Thirty-first [Fifty-second?] Alabama in reserve, and no battery at command, both of my own having been sent farther to the right, at which point we seemed to be pressed. The enemy appeared to out-number us greatly.

Ignorant of the topography of the country, and not knowing his force, I was for a while reluctant to charge, and as he was in the woods, too, with some advantage of position, I fought him, as I have said, for an hour and a quarter, killing and wounding 400 or 500 of the Forty-sixth Ohio Infantry alone, as well as many of another Ohio regiment, a Missouri regiment, and some Iowa troops, from all of whom we eventually took prisoners.

It would be impossible to praise too highly the steadiness and valor of my troops in this engagement.

I lost here many men and several officers, among whom were Captains Benjamin Desha and J. W. Caldwell severely and Adjt. William Bell mortally wounded, all of the Fifth Kentucky; also, in the same regiment, Captain James R. Bright, Lieutenants J. L. Moore and R. M. Simmons were wounded. In the Fourth Kentucky, Captain John A. Adair, First Lieutenant John Bird Rogers, commanding Company A, and Lieutenant Robert Dunn were severely wounded, mortally. The Thirty-first [Fifty-second?] Alabama, on the left, lost several officers and men, and elicited general praise for its gallantry.

During the engagement the men of no part of the brigade at any time faltered or fell back, while the enemy had to reform more than once.

At length, after having extended my line by adding my reserve to the left of it and obtaining as a support General Stewart, with a part of his brigade, and a part of General Anderson's command, which I found in my rear in a wooded ravine, I gave order to fix bayonets and move forward in double-quick time at a charge, which was executed in the hand-


Page 615 Chapter XXII. PITTSBURG LANDING, OR SHILOH, TENN.