Chronological History of the American Civil War

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position at Pittsburg Landing. During the night, General Don Carlos Buell (U.S.) arrived with reinforcements and moved approximately 17,000 troops into line on the Union left. While, General Lew Wallace (U.S.) put almost 6,000 fresh troops on the right that night after spending the whole day trying to find the battle. Seems he took the long way around to get there, and missed all of the first day’s fighting. He would later be relieved as 3rd Division Command under Grant . (Fighting could be heard in Bolivar, TN some 50 miles away). Monday, April 7, 1862 : The North launched a counter offensive at Shiloh. Like the previous day the fighting was fierce, but gunships on the River Tennessee supported the Unionists. “Bloody Shiloh” had no obvious winning side and historians view the battle as a ‘draw.’ But the losses suffered by both sides far outweighed any previous battle. Confederate Losses: 1,723 dead, 8,012 wounded, 959 missing. Union Losses: 1,754 dead, 8,408 wounded, 2,885 missing. This is the bloodiest battle in U.S. History to this point. The 23,746 casualties (dead,wounded, and/or missing) represent more than the American battle- related casualties of the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Mexican-American War combined. The dead included Confederate commander Albert Sidney Johnston and Union General W.H.L. Wallace. General P.G.T. Beauregard, now commanding the C.S. forces, withdraws toward Corinth, Mississippi. In Bolivar, Tennessee, diarist, John Houston Bills writes: "At 8 a.m., hear of the Great battle of Pittsburg at Shiloh. With many others I depart at 2 p.m. to look after my friends who are or may be killed or wounded. We stop in Purdy. Rain all night." Tuesday, April 8, 1862: In Mississippi, General Beauregard collects the remaining Confederates and organizes a defense, while General Grant's troops clean the camps and bury their dead. Hard rain and muddy conditions cause trouble for both Union and Confederate forces. Island No. 10 a small island in the Mississippi River, which was one of the few defenses left above Vicksburg as finally fell to the Union with 3,000 Confederate soldiers captured. Trying to find friends or relatives in the wake of the battle, John Houston Bills writes in his diary: "Hear of M.T. Polk (son-in-law) being wounded in the right leg. We pressed near the battle ground and then to Corinth where we sleep in the Army (CSA). Great excitement, many killed and thousands wounded." Wednesday, April 9,1862: Cleanup and reorganization continue for Union and Confederate forces in both Shiloh and Corinth, Mississippi. The Confederates are still struggling to reach the retreat point at Corinth, and civilian relief organizations send supplies of medicine and food to Shiloh where Confederate and Union wounded waited for care. John Houston Bills of Bolivar, Tennessee, writes more in his diary, "Together with Napoleon Hill, Dr. Jasse S. Busford, and Thomas Boyle, I repair to the great battle ground in search of wounded son in law M. T. Polk. We see General J. C. Brackenridge (CSA)." Thursday, April 10, 1862: Cleanup and reorganization continue in Shiloh and Corinth, Mississippi. John Houston Bills in search of his son-in-law at Shiloh writes in his diary, "Having spent the at, and on the west of the Battle Ground, we sleep at General Meeks, a Fed surgeon, at a neutral hospital promises us safe conduct to Mrs. Howells, where Capt Polk lies wounded." The United States Congress authorizes a joint solution for the gradual emancipation of slaves in all countries (mainly directed at border states) and it is approved and ratified by President Lincoln. Union Colonel Gillmore uses stolen guns to bombard the masonry walls of Confederate Fort Pulaski on the river near Savannah, Georgia, an attack which lasts through the night and into the following day. Friday, April 11, 1862: In Georgia, Union Colonel Gillmore's attack on Confederate Fort Pulaski is victorious using new Federal “rifled” cannon artillery and 5,000 strikes on the fortress, and he captures 360 Confederate prisoners. The victory effectively ends the Confederate use of Savannah, Georgia as a port for the remainder of the war. In Virginia, the ironclad C.S.S. Virginia captures three merchant ships and withdraws without engaging the U.S.S. Monitor. Union General Halleck assumes control of General Grant's forces at Shiloh, and reinforcements arrive to make an attack on Confederate troops at Corinth. John Houston Bills writes in his diary: "Boyle and myself go to Mrs. Howells where we are betrayed into the hands of the Enemy after seeing Capt. Polk." Saturday, April 12, 1862: While serving as a spy for the North, James J. Andrews, another civilian, William "Bill" Campbell, and 22 volunteers from three Ohio infantry regiments dressed in civilian