A Confederate surprise attack nearly destroyed Grant's army on day one — but a desperate stand at the 'Hornet's Nest' bought enough time to turn the battle completely around.
On the morning of April 6, 1862, Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston launched a massive surprise attack on Grant's army camped near Shiloh Church in Tennessee. Union soldiers were eating breakfast when Confederate troops burst from the woods — the attack nearly shattered the Union army in hours.
The Confederate assault drove Union forces back toward the Tennessee River all day, seemingly on the verge of a total victory. Then a Union position along a sunken road — dubbed the 'Hornet's Nest' by Confederates because of the fierce firepower — held for hours against repeated assaults, buying critical time.
Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston — considered by Jefferson Davis the finest military mind in the South — was killed on the afternoon of April 6 when a bullet severed an artery in his leg. He bled to death in the saddle, likely not knowing his wound was fatal. His loss devastated Confederate leadership.
Grant, though surprised, refused to panic. He established a last-ditch defensive line near Pittsburg Landing protected by artillery and two gunboats. When a subordinate suggested retreat, Grant replied there would be no retreat — they would attack at dawn.
On April 7, reinforced by Buell's Army of the Ohio arriving overnight, Grant counterattacked and drove the Confederates from the field. The battle's nearly 24,000 total casualties in two days stunned the nation — more Americans had died at Shiloh than in all of the country's previous wars combined.
Northern newspapers called for Grant's removal after Shiloh, claiming he had been caught off guard. Lincoln famously refused: 'I can't spare this man — he fights.' Grant's willingness to attack and counterattack aggressively, even after being surprised, would define his generalship for the rest of the war.