The Dragoons of Camp 1524 met on Thursday January 13th at the Prattville Masonic Lodge for their regularly scheduled meeting at 6:45pm. Chaplain Brantley opened the meeting with an invocation followed by Color Sgt Dennis leading everyone in the pledges and salutes to the flags. Commander Waldo then recited the Charge to the Sons of Confederate Veterans followed by a swearing in of new member Edward Norman. Upcoming events and announcements were then highlighted including a new event at Confederate Memorial Park, a Winter Quarters Living History on Saturday January 29th. The program concluded with the SCV closing and the Benediction by the Chaplain.
The program was presented by compatriot Tyler Suttle who spoke on the Battle of Shiloh. Tyler provided his references including "Shiloh" by Daniel and Cunningham, "Shiloh Bloody April" and "Nothing but Victory". Shiloh was the first major action of the War in the western theatre. Kentucky was originally a neutral border state but Confederate General Leonid Polk invaded and occupied Columbus KY in late 1861 which prompted the state government to request US federal aid. Polk's superior, General Albert Sydney Johnston had his forces spread to thin to present any defense of Kentucky so when the Union troops under General Ulysses Grant attacked, they actually took Paducah KY without firing a shot. Paducah was the gateway to the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and access to the Tennessee River so strategically important. Forts Henry and Donelson in Feb 1862 were quickly taken by Grant who earned his nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant" when he took the forts with 13000 Confederate troops killed, wounded or captured.
Grant's goal was Corinth MS which was a major railroad hub for the Memphis & Charleston (east-west) and Mobile & Ohio (north-south). Johnston recognized this and asked President Jefferson Davis for more troops which were initially rejected as Davis prioritized the defense of New Orleans and Mobile but when Fort Donelson fell, he relented and sent Gen. Bragg from Mobile for reinforcements. Grant had a fleet of steamboats which he used to transport his army down the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers toward Nashville escorted by armored gunboats like the USS Lexington.
Johnston had under his command Generals Hardee, Breckenridge, Polk, Bragg and Beauregard. But their troops at this point in the war had mostly smooth bore weapons including old flintlocks with all sorts of calibers which made ammunition difficult to provide also. Johnston's army advanced north out of Corinth toward Shiloh to confront Grant which should have been a day's march but because of rainy weather and bickering between his generals, it took three days. Time was of the essence before Grant's forces were reinforced by Buell with an additional 17000 troops. Johnston planned to attack Grant on the west side of the Tennessee near Pittsburgh Landing and flank him, forcing him westward toward the swamplands. The night prior to the attack on April 6th, Johnston ordered his troops to not start any campfires to preserve their concealment but which prolonged their misery in wet saturated clothing from the rain and muddy conditions thru which they had marched. They could hear the troops in the Union encampment drilling and singing songs.
At 5:30am the morning of April 6th the Confederates opened fire to start the battle and this initial skirmish lasted about 3 hours before Johnston's troops advanced north toward the rest of the Union troops in their camps. Johnston had hoped to push Grant's army west but instead, wound up pushing them toward the river and their awaiting steamboats and gunboats. The Confederate troops stalled trying to destroy a concentration of Union troops in what was called the Hornet's Nest using artillery and rifles completely surrounding the federals. Grant's troops retreated to a line of defense where the steamboats were used in the rear to evacuate men in retreat. Johnston was killed in the day's fighting when a bullet entered his leg severing an artery near his knee filling his boot with blood.
Buell's forces reached the area to reinforce Grant's army and they prepared a counter attack. The second day was the opposite of the first day's action as the Union troops advanced south and the Confederates had to set up a defensive line to allow a retreat with the Confederate army now under the command of Beauregard. The Confederates retreated back to Corinth. Shiloh was the worst battle for casualties in the western theatre with 23000 men killed. For many, this was the first combat the troops had seen and the blood and death from the artillery grapeshot and the large caliber rifles and muskets was horrifying. Following the battle, the dead were buried in mass graves of 100 men in trenches 7 x 20 x 20 feet. Markers have been placed by the UDC at some of these graves. A monument is also erected where Johnston was killed.
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