One of the bloodiest and most bitterly fought battles of the Civil War took place at Shiloh Church (and Pittsburg Landing) on April 6-7, 1862. The Union, led by Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman, held off a massive Confederate offensive led by Albert Sidney Johnston and P.G.T. Beauregard, paving the way for Union control of the Western Theater. When the fighting ended, nearly 20,000 soldiers were either dead or wounded, and the South had lost one of its ablest commanders in Johnston. Guide to the Battle of Shiloh combines eyewitness accounts of this Tennessee battle with explicit details about advances and retreats, leadership strategies, obstacles, achievements, and tactical blunders. In addition, it provides directions to key points on the battlefield as well as maps depicting the action and details of troop positions, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree lines as they were 130 years ago.

Includes maps of: Main Roads Leading to the Battlefield; Location of All the Stops; General Location of the Union Camps near Pittsburg Landing (Stop 1); Battle Begins in Fraley Field (Stop 2A); Battle Shifts to Seay Field (Stop 2B); Confederate Attack Develops (Stop 3); Sherman's Defense, Rhea Field (Stops 4 and 5); Shiloh Church (Stops 6 through 9); Midday Confederate Attack on the Union Right, April 6, 1862 (Stop 10); Gladden's Attack (Stop 11); Confederate Attack on the Union Left, April 6, 1862 (Stop 12); Johnston Leads the Assault on the Peach Orchard (Stop 13); Union Forces Withdraw under Pressure from the Peach Orchard, April 6, 1862 (Stop 14); Union Forces at the Hornet's Nest, April 6, 1862 (Stops 15 through 19); Confederate Assault on the Hornet's Nest (Stops 17 through 19); Attacks across Dill Branch into Final Union Positions near Pittsburg Landing (Stop 20); Union Dispositions at the End of the Day, April 6, 1862 (Stop 21); Dispositions of Counterattacking Union Forces, April 7, 1862 (Stops 24 and 25).

Guide to the Battle of Shiloh. The strategic situation -- The Confederate plan : Seay Field -- The first day. The Confederates attack -- Rhea Field -- Cleburne's assault -- Shiloh church : Tennessee monument -- McDowell's headquarters -- Owl Creek -- Raith monument -- McClernand's battle -- Gladden's attack -- The attack against Stuart -- Johnston's death -- The Peach Orchard : Bloody Pond -- Defending the flank -- The lost opportunity -- Ruggles's batteries -- The hornet's nest -- The hornet's nest (continued) -- The final assault -- Pittsburg Landing -- Grant in control -- The second day. Buckland's Brigade : Grant's counterattack -- Union counterattack : Water Oaks Pond -- Beauregard's headquarters -- After the battle.