C
D
A newspaper reporter described the chaos at the scene.
A PERSONAL
VOICE
“ I saw officers . . . —majors and colonels who had deserted their commands—
pass me galloping as if for dear life. . . . For three miles, hosts of Federal troops . .
. all mingled in one disorderly rout. Wounded men lying along the banks . . .
appealed with raised hands to those who rode horses, begging to be lifted behind,
but few regarded such petitions.
”
—correspondent, New York World, July 21, 1861
Fortunately for the Union, the Confederates were too exhausted and disorga-
nized to attack Washington. Still, Confederate morale soared. Bull Run “has
secured our independence,” declared a Georgia secessionist, and many Southern
soldiers, confident that the war was over, left the army and went home.
Union Armies in the West
Lincoln responded to the defeat at Bull Run by calling for the enlistment of
500,000 men to serve for three years instead of three months. Three days later, he
called for an additional 500,000 men. He also appointed General George
McClellan to lead this new Union army, encamped near Washington. While
McClellan drilled his men—soon to be known as the Army of the Potomac—the
Union forces in the West began the fight for control of the Mississippi.
FORTS HENRY AND DONELSON
In February 1862 a Union army in-
vaded western Tennessee. At its head was General Ulysses S. Grant, a
rumpled West Point graduate who had failed at everything he had tried in
civilian life—whether as farmer, bill collector, real estate agent, or store
clerk. He was, however, a brave, tough, and decisive military commander.
In just 11 days, Grant’s forces captured two Confederate forts that held
strategic positions on important rivers, Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and
Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River. In the latter victory, Grant informed the
Southern commander that “no terms except unconditional and immediate
surrender can be accepted.” The Confederates surrendered and, from then on,
people said that Grant’s initials stood for “Unconditional Surrender” Grant.
SHILOH
One month after the victories at Fort Henry and Fort
Donelson, in late March of 1862, Grant gathered his troops near
a small Tennessee church named Shiloh, which was close to the
Mississippi border. On April 6 thousands of yelling Confederate
soldiers surprised the Union forces. Many Union troops were shot
while making coffee; some died while they were still lying in their
blankets. With Union forces on the edge of disaster, Grant reorga-
nized his troops, ordered up reinforcements, and counterattacked
at dawn the following day. By midafternoon the Confederate
forces were in retreat. The Battle of Shiloh taught both sides a
strategic lesson. Generals now realized that they had to send out
scouts, dig trenches, and build fortifications. Shiloh also demon-
strated how bloody the war might become, as nearly one-fourth
of the battle’s 100,000 troops were killed, wounded, or captured.
Although the battle seemed to be a draw, it had a long-range
impact on the war. The Confederate failure to hold on to its Ohio-
Kentucky frontier showed that at least part of the Union’s three-
way strategy, the drive to take the Mississippi and split the
Confederacy, might succeed.
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
D
Summarizing
What did the
battle of Shiloh
show about the
future course of
the Civil War?
Grant, at Shiloh in
1862
342 C
HAPTER 11
“ No terms except
unconditional
and immediate
surrender . . .”
ULYSSES S. GRANT
MAIN IDEA
MAIN IDEA
C
Analyzing
Effects
How did
Southerners react
to the outcome of
Bull Run?
▼
C. Answer
Morale improved
and Confeder-
ates thought the
war was over.
D. Answer
The war would
produce an
unexpectedly
high number of
casualties; also,
the North would
probably win,
since it had
nearly split the
Confederacy.
