Confederate Order of Battle

ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI
Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, (killed) commanding
Col. Wm. Preston, volunteer aid (OR Report)

Gen. P.G. T. Beauregard, commanding, Monday (OR Report)
Col. Jacob Thompson, volunteer aid (OR Report)


FIRST CORPS
Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk (OR Report)
Maj. Smith P. Bankhead, Chief of Artillery (OR Report)
Surg W. D. Lyles, Medical Director (OR Report)


FIRST DIVISION
Brig. Gen. Charles Clark (wounded) (OR Report) (Supplement OR Report)
First Brigade
Col. Robert M. Russell (OR Report)
11th Louisiana (OR Report)
12th Tennessee (OR Report) (OR Report)
13th Tennessee (OR Report)
22d Tennessee
Bankhead’s Tennessee Battery


Second Brigade
Brig. Gen. Alexander P. Stewart (OR Report)
13th Arkansas (OR Report) (OR Report)
4th Tennessee (OR Report)
5th Tennessee (OR Report)
33d Tennessee (OR Report)
Stanford’s Mississippi Battery (OR Report)

SECOND DIVISION
Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham (wounded) (OR Report)

First Brigade
Brig. Gen. Bushrod R. Johnson (wounded) (OR Report)
Blythe's Mississippi
Walker’s 2d Tennessee
15th Tennessee
154th Senior Tennessee (OR Report) (OR Report)
Polk’s Tennessee Battery

Second Brigade
Col. William H. Stephens (OR Report) (Maney’s OR Report)
7th Kentucky (OR Report)
1st Tennessee Battalion
6th Tennessee
9th Tennessee
Smith’s Mississippi Battery

Cavalry
1st Mississippi (OR Report) (OR Report)
Mississippi and Alabama Battalion (OR Report)

Unattached
47th Tennessee (arrived on field April 7)


SECOND ARMY CORPS
Maj. Gen. Braxton Bragg (OR Report)

FIRST DIVISION
Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles (OR Report)

First Brigade
Col. Randall L. Gibson (OR Report)
1st Arkansas (OR Report)
4th Louisiana (OR Report)
13th Louisiana (OR Report)
19th Louisiana (OR Report)
Vaiden, or Bain's Mississippi Battery


Second Brigade
Brig. Gen. Patton Anderson (OR Report)
1st Florida Battalion (OR Report)
17th Louisiana (OR Report)
20th Louisiana (OR Report)
Confederate Guards Response Battalion (OR Report)
9th Texas (OR Report)
Washington (Louisiana) Artillery, Fifth Company (OR Report)

Third Brigade
Col. Preston Pond, Jr. (OR Report)
16th Louisiana (OR Report)
18th Louisiana (OR Report)
Crescent (Louisiana) Regiment (OR Report)
Orleans Guard (Louisiana) Battalion
38th Tennessee (OR Report)
Ketchum's Alabama Battery (OR Report)

Cavalry
1st Alabama Cavalry Battalion (OR Report)
Prattville Dragoons (OR Report)
Mathew Rangers (OR Report)
Robins’ Cavalry (OR Report)


SECOND DIVISION
Brig. Gen. Jones M. Withers (OR Report)

First Brigade
Brig. Gen. Adley H. Gladden (mortally wounded)
Col. Daniel W. Adams (wounded) (OR Report) (Deas’ OR Report) (Loomis' OR Report)
21st Alabama (OR Report)
22d Alabama (OR Report) (OR Report)
25th Alabama (OR Report)
26th Alabama (OR Report)
1st Louisiana
Robertson's Alabama Battery

Second Brigade
Brig. Gen. James R. Chalmers (OR Report)
5th Mississippi
7th Mississippi
9th Mississippi
10th Mississippi
52d. Tennessee
Gage's Alabama Battery

Third Brigade
Brig. Gen. John K. Jackson (OR Report) (Moore’s OR Report)
17th Alabama
18th Alabama (OR Report)
19th Alabama (OR Report)
2d Texas (OR Report)
Girardey's Georgia Battery (OR Report)

Cavalry
Clanton's Alabama Regiment

THIRD ARMY CORPS
Maj. Gen. William J. Hardee (wounded) (OR Report)

First Brigade
Brig. Gen. Thomas C. Hindman (disabled), commanding his own and Third Brigade
Col. R. G. Shaver (disabled) (OR Report)
2d Arkansas (OR Report)
6th Arkansas
7th Arkansas (OR Report)
3d Confederate
Warren Light Artillery, or Swett's Mississippi Battery,
Pillow's Flying Artillery, or Miller's Tennessee Battery,

Second Brigade
Brig. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne (OR Report)
15th Arkansas
6th Mississippi
Bate’s 2d Tennessee (OR Report) (OR Report)
5th (35th) Tennessee (OR Report)
23d Tennessee (OR Report)
24th Tennessee

Shoup's Battalion
Trigg's (Austin) Arkansas Battery
Calvert's (Helena) Arkansas Battery
Hubbard's Arkansas Battery

Third Brigade
Brig. Gen. Sterling A. M. Wood (disabled) (OR Report)
16th Alabama (OR Report)
8th Arkansas (OR Report)
9th (14th ) Arkansas (battalion) (OR Report)
3d Mississippi Battalion (OR Report)
27th Tennessee (OR Report)
44th Tennessee (OR Report)
55th Tennessee
Harper's (Jefferson Mississippi) Battery (OR Report) (OR Report)
Avery’s Georgia Dragoons (OR Report)


RESERVE CORPS
Brig. Gen. John C. Breckinridge (OR Report)

First Brigade
Col. Robert P. Trabue (OR Report)
Clifton's 4th Alabama Battalion
31st Alabama
3d Kentucky
4th Kentucky
5th Kentucky
6th Kentucky
Crew's Tennessee Battalion
Lyon's (Cobb's) Kentucky Battery
Byrne's Mississippi Battery
Morgan’s Squadron Kentucky Cavalry

Second Brigade
Brig. Gen. John S. Bowen (wounded) (Martin’s OR Report)
9th Arkansas (OR Report)
10th Arkansas
2d Confederate
1st Missouri
Pettus Flying Artillery, or Hudson's Mississippi Battery
Watson's Louisiana Battery
Thompson's Company Kentucky Cavalry

Third Brigade
Col. Winfield S. Statham, 15th Mississippi
15th Mississippi
22d Mississippi
19th Tennessee
20th Tennessee
28th Tennessee
45th Tennessee
Rutledge's Tennessee Battery
Forrest's Regiment Tennessee Cavalry

Unattached
Wharton's Texas Regiment Cavalry (OR Report)
Wirt Adams's Mississippi Regiment Cavalry
McClung's Tennessee Battery
Roberts Arkansas Battery

Untold Story of Shiloh

The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield by Timothy B. Smith.

The best way to describe this book is as a collection of the overlooked things of Shiloh. Smith has chapters on the historiography of the battle, persistent myths of the battle, Alexander P. Stewart's Brigade, the role of the US Navy, the siege of Corinth, the national cemetery, dedication speeches through the years, David W. Reed and DeLong Rice.

I've seen some of these chapters in other publications, most notably his chapter on the myths of the battle. I'm glad to say that on the 10 myths Smith presents I only believed in one. How many do you believe? The ten myths are:
1) The Union was surprised

2) Prentiss was the hero
3) Lew Wallace was lost
4) Buell was the savior
5) The Navy was not important
6) The Hornets Nest was pivotal
7) The Confederates would have won if the final attack had not been called off
8) The Confederates would have won if Johnston had survived

9) The sunken road was sunken

10) Johnston died at the tree marked on the field (or that used to be marked)

The only one I didn't agree with was the the role of the Navy. Smith says its impact was more physiological which I can see. I don't think the Navy contributed much in the way of firepower but completely agree with Smith that the Navy did a ton of logistical work. Logistics are a very important part of battles but usually do not get much press. I'm not sure if that's because its a somewhat dry topic or if the source material is thinner, but it is generally an overlooked part of battles. So I guess on that myth I only think of the Navy doing little when it came time to expend powder.

Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Shiloh

Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Shiloh edited by David R. Logsdon

This book is pretty much as the title explains. Logsdon has collected eyewitness accounts from a variety sources and compiled them here. He has added some narrative between quotes but not too much, he mainly lets the men speak. This is a good companion book for the driving tour as Logsdon limits his quotes to those areas. You will not read about Sherman's fighting near Jones Field, but you will read about his fighting at Shiloh Church. That's fine. He had to limit his book somehow or it would have been a huge tome. I would appreciate a huge volume but I bet most people would not.

He has also done volumes for Stones River, Franklin, Nashville and Fort Donelson. I have all of the books and have used them for battlefield treks. I will usually copy sections for areas I know I will be at and read them on the spot where they happened. I highly recommend these books.

Shiloh: The Battle that Changed the Civil War

Shiloh: The Battle that Changed the Civil War by Larry J. Daniel

In my opinion this is the best single Shiloh book out there. It has more detail than McDonough, but not too much like Sword and Cunningham. This book also does a wonderful job of putting Shiloh in context with the other events of the war in the spring of 1862.

The maps are nice, which is not something I can say about Sword's book. Like McDonough's they are full page maps. There is more detail to these maps so individual regiments are shown. One slight drawback is that a map will cover a couple hours of the battle and certain areas will have a time printed there. Usually these are pretty easy to understand but sometimes it is a bit cluttered. It would have been nicer to have 2 or 3 maps but its not necessary.

Yesterday I said McDonough's book was good to prepare for a battlefield visit or to better understand what you just saw. I think Daniel's book would be the next one to read as it would give you more detail and also provide context. After that I'd suggest Cunningham or Sword. But if you didn't advance past Daniel and McDonough you would have a pretty good understanding of the battle.

Shiloh - in Hell before Night

Shiloh - in Hell before Night by James Lee McDonough

McDonough's book covers the battle of Shiloh from the brigade level on up. You will rarely read of the exploits of a regiment or battery. And that is fine, in fact sometimes it is good to get away from the minute details and think about the battle differently.

This is one of the classic books on the battle, along with Sword's, Daniel's and Cunningham's. One thing I like about the book is the maps. The maps are very clean and clear. They do only show things at a division level which is a drawback. They are also full page maps. I find it annoying when a publisher gives you a map that is only a third or half the size of the page. They often have too much information for that size. But when McDonough gives you a map or illustration it is as big as the page.

I don't have too much to say about the book except that it is a wonderful book that deals with the battle without going into regimental detail. If you wanted to find out what happened at Shiloh this would be the book I'd send you to. If you wanted to find out what the 15th Illinois did I'd recommend something else, probably Sword or Cunningham. But if you wanted the book to either build on what you just saw at the battlefield or to prepare for a battlefield visit this would be a good one to choose.

This Great Battlefield of Shiloh

This Great Battlefield of Shiloh: History, Memory and the Establishment of a Civil War National Military Park by Timothy B. Smith

This book covers the formation of Shiloh National Military Park from its formation in 1894 to its transfer to the Department of the Interior in 1933. This is a very important time for the battlefield as this is when the park as we know it takes shape. By 1933 nearly all the plaques, markers and monuments are in place. The park landscape had been returned to its 1862 appearance as best as possible (the biggest change being that the fields had changed over the 32 years before the battlefield became a park, although roads and homes had been added).

My primary complaint with the book is that it stops in 1933. I wanted to know more, I wanted a complete history of the park's administration up to the present day. Perhaps Smith will write a second volume down the road that finished the story.

The other thing I wish this book had more of is the various controversies that regiments had about the placement of their lines. Some of these were relatively minor while some, like the 81st Ohio's complaints were much larger events that involved high ranking members of the War Department. I find this sort of thing fascinating and I know of no other book that covers these controversies at Shiloh. There are certainly books that discuss the conflicts over monument placement at Gettysburg but I know of none for Shiloh.

Smith does a good job of explaining David W. Reed's impact on the historiography of Shiloh. Reed was the chief historian, he later served as superintendent, and was the voice of the park. Reed was not an unbiased observer, he had served in the 12th Iowa which fought in the Sunken Road. The Sunken Road begins to take a prominent spot in Shiloh historiography during the 1890s and Reed certainly helps make it that way.

All in all this is a very good book that covers all aspects of the first four decades of the park.

Struggle for Heartland

Struggle for the Heartland: The campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth by Stephen D Engle


As the title suggests this book puts Shiloh in the context of the other operations in the Western theater at the time. Specifically the fighting along the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. This is a pretty short book, 200 pages, and Shiloh only is about 30 of them, and doesn’t appear until nearly three-fourths of the book is over.


Engle is not the first historian to think of these battles as a campaign. Manning F. Force wrote a book in 1882 with that very title, Fort Henry to Corinth. Force was a veteran of these fights, having served as colonel of the 20th Ohio. I really like this book. It is obviously not useful to find out what regiment fought where but it is very useful for placing the battle in context with the other operations in the West in the spring of 1862.


I believe that the spring of 1862 was when the south lost the war. Sure they fought on for three more years but the ground lost in 1862 set things up for the rest of the war. I think that during the rest of the year the South does a fair job of mitigating those losses. Halleck does not use his superior position post-Corinth to bring the war to a close but instead loses the initiative and allows the South to take the offensive and transfer the area of active operations to middle Tennessee and Kentucky. The campaign for Vicksburg does not kick off until the late fall. I think that February thru May is a time when the Union takes great strides towards making this a short war, and that those advantages are then blown in the next few months so that it isn’t until the summer of 1863 that those possibilities can be turned into real gains. This book does a very good job of explaining how the Union achieved those impressive gains in the spring.