Existing comment:
Confederate Retreat:
On the second day of fighting, Confederate forces here under General P. G. T. Beauregard made their last attempt to check the surge of Union forces counterattacking from Pittsburg Landing. Confederate infantry sloshed through the shallow Water Oaks Pond in front of you and charged to your left across the field. They gained some ground, but were unable to stop the steady advance of Grant's Union army which had been heavily reinforced during the night.
After 2:30 p.m., a Confederate staff officer asked Beauregard, "General, do you not think our troops are very much in the condition of a lump of sugar thoroughly soaked with water, but yet preserving its original shape, though ready to dissolve? Would it not be judicious to get away with what we have?"
Moments later, General Beauregard gave the order for the Confederate army to retreat to Corinth. The Battle of Shiloh was over. |