Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston was leading what would become his last offensive at the Battle of Shiloh when he was shot in the back of his knee. It's possible that he was riding his horse "Fire Eater" too far ahead of his troops and was shot by one of his own men. Some of Johnston's earlier offensives had been highly successful in pushing Grant's army further north, so he was elected to lead some less experienced soldiers into battle. The bullet severed a major artery in his right leg, but it is likely that he did not feel it due to nerve damage from an old dueling injury. He only noticed the severity of the wound when his boot became filled with blood, and by then it was too late. Johnston died of blood loss on the battlefield. Ironically, he had a tourniquet, which is used to compress a limb to stop the flow of blood, in his pocket when he died. Johnston was the highest ranking officer to be killed in action throughout the war, and his death at Shiloh was a huge loss for the Confederacy.
Johnston was replaced with General P.T.G. Beauregard, who called off the Confederate assaults. Many believed that this threw off the Confederate's trajectory towards victory and cost them a loss. However, there is controversy on whether this was really the case. The Union's sheer numbers (66,000 Union soldiers against 45,000 Confederates) and industrial capacity definitely played a role at Shiloh. The loss of Johnston certainly dealt a blow to the Confederacy, but even with his leadership it's unlikely that the South would have been able to break Grant's defensive lines. The battle guaranteed the advancement of Union troops into Tennessee and proved that the war would be a lot bloodier than everyone had expected.
Your blog post on the Battle of Shiloh is super interesting. I vaguely remembered the story of Johnston’s boot from 8th grade history, but your blog served as a great refresher and discussed the impact his death had on the battle. I researched the effects of the battle and was surprised to see that, after the war, Northern newspapers painted Grant as a bad commander because he was surprised from the Confederate assault on April 6. Despite winning, newspapers were able to shape public opinion against Grant despite current historians recognizing is strategic movements that helped lead to victory on the second day. People wanted him removed, and requests to the White House were met with Lincoln’s quote: “I can't spare this man; he fights.”
ReplyDeleteSource: http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/residents-visitors/the-generals-and-admirals/generals-admirals-ulysses-s-grant-1822-1885/
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ReplyDeleteThis blog post was super insightful and I can tell you did a lot of good research. It is crazy that he died with something that could've saved his life right in his pocket! I was wondering if Johnston hadn't died if the Union would have won the war if the Confederates continued to drive the Union troops to the River. However, the North did get reinforcements the next day, and Johnston and Beauregard didn't have a consistent clear plan that they shared for attack which weakened their forces. Maybe God was just trying to give the Confederacy a sign. A sign that they weren't on the right side of the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh