Digital Learning Commons: Civil War: Shiloh, April 1862

Resources

The Battle of Shiloh.; Gen. Buell’s Report
Field report from Union General D.C. Buell on the Battle of Shiloh.

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Buell, D. C. “The Battle If Shiloh.; Gen. Buell’s Report.” The New York Times, 19 May 1862, https://www.nytimes.com/1862/05/19/archives/the-battle-of-shiloh-gen-buells-report.html.
Battle of Shiloh Facts and Summary
Concise overview of the Battle of Shiloh. Also includes links to related resources such as maps, military bios, videos, and pictures.
Beauregard’s Rude Awakening at Shiloh
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In the half-light while the Battle of Shiloh still raged, General Beauregard dictated a telegram to Richmond in which he informed Jefferson Davis and the Confederate government of the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston, as well as the "Complete Victory" of Confederate arms that day. The announcement was premature, of course.

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Groom, Winston. “Beauregard’s Rude Awakening at Shiloh.” America’s Civil War, no. 2, 2012, p. 42. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.288980628&site=eds-live.
Lick ‘Em to-Morrow, Though’
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Soldiers on both sides expected the Union to retreat after the first day at Shiloh; Major General Ulysses S. Grant had other ideas.

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Smith, Timothy B. “’Lick ‘Em to-Morrow, Though’.” America’s Civil War, no. 2, 2015, p. 60. EBSCOhost, libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,uid&db=edsgao&AN=edsgcl.402875913&site=eds-live.
Report from the Union Medical Director at the Battle of Shiloh
First-hand account of the Battle of Shiloh from the Union Medical Director, Robert Murray.

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Murray, Robert. Report from the Union Medical Director at the Battle of Shiloh. 21 Apr. 1862, https://ehistory.osu.edu/exhibitions/cwsurgeon/cwsurgeon/shiloh.
Why Shiloh Matters
The Battle of Shiloh began at sunrise on April 6, 1862 as 45,000 Confederate soldiers swooped down on an unsuspecting Union army encamped at Pittsburg Landing. What followed were two of the bloodiest days of the Civil War, leaving 24,000 men on both sides dead, dying and wounded.

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Groom, Winston. “Why Shiloh Matters.” Opinionator, 6 Apr. 2012, https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/why-shiloh-matters/.

Highly Recommended | Primary Source | Multimedia

Animated Battle Map

Dig deeper and search the Digital Maine Library databases for the names below.

Ulysses S. Grant	William Sherman	Albert Johnston
Don Carlos (D.C.) Buell	P.G.T. Beauregard	Ambrose Bierce

Databases

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Podcasts

The Battle of Shiloh (1 hour 32 minutes)
Shiloh means “Place of Peace” in Hebrew – which was a complete misnomer for two days in April of 1862 as the Union and Confederate armies slugged it out in what was the first “great battle” of the war with casualties over those two days being almost the same as all the major wars the US had previously fought.

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Johnson, Justin. “The Battle of Shiloh - American Military History Podcast.” American Military History Podcast, 3 July 2018, https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/american-military-history-podc-39976/episodes/the-battle-of-shiloh-29642551.
History of Civil War in 10 Battles, Part 4: The Battle of Shiloh (45 minutes)
There were more casualties—24,000—at Shiloh than there had been in the American War of Independence, the War of 1812, and the Mexican War combined, and yet the battle itself was a bloody draw. After battle of Shiloh, Grant said: “I gave up all idea of saving the Union except by complete conquest.”

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Rank, Scott. “The Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862).” History Unplugged, History on the Net, 21 Nov. 2018, https://www.historyonthenet.com/battle-of-shiloh-6-7-april-1862.
Great Battles of the Civil War: Shiloh (1 hour)
Leading Civil War historians discuss the two-day battle at Shiloh--from strategies to casualties, miracles to miscalculations.

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Marszalek, John F. “Great Battles of the Civil War: Shiloh.” Lincoln and the Civil War, New York Historical Society, 18 Apr. 2014, https://www.nyhistory.org/audio-video-programs/great-battles-civil-war-shiloh.