what happened to the battle of shiloh?
Surprise Attack!
entailment
 In Shiloh 's aftermath , the Northern press criticized Grant for high casualties and for his alleged drunkenness during the battle . Shiloh was the costliest battle in American history to that point , with total casualties of about 23 @,@ 800 . Halleck arrived at Pittsburg Landing on April 9 , and removed Grant from field command , proceeding to capture Corinth . Discouraged and disappointed , Grant considered resigning his commission , but Brigadier General William Tecumseh Sherman , one of his division commanders , convinced him to stay . Lincoln overruled Grant 's critics , saying " I can 't spare this man ; he fights . " Ordered to Washington , Halleck on July 11 reinstated Grant as field commander of the Army of the Tennessee . On September 19 , Grant 's army defeated Confederates at the Battle of Iuka , then successfully defended Corinth , inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy . On October 25 , Grant assumed command of the District of the Tennessee . In November , after Lincoln 's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation , Grant ordered units under his command , headed by Chaplain John Eaton , to incorporate contraband slaves into the Union war effort , giving them clothes , shelter , and wages for their services . 

entailment
 The Battle of Shiloh , also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing , was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War , fought April 6 – 7 , 1862 , in southwestern Tennessee . A Union army under Major General Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing , Tennessee on the west bank of the river , where Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and Pierre G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant 's army . Johnston was killed in action during the fighting ; Beauregard , who thus succeeded to command of the army , decided against pressing the attack late in the evening . Overnight Grant was reinforced by one of his own divisions stationed further north and was joined by three divisions from another Union army under Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell . This allowed them to launch an unexpected counterattack the next morning which completely reversed the Confederate gains of the previous day . 

neutral
 The morning phase ended with casualties on both sides of almost 13 @,@ 000 , including two Union corps commanders . 

entailment
 The two @-@ day battle of Shiloh , the costliest in American history up to that time , resulted in the defeat of the Confederate army and frustration of Johnston 's plans to prevent the two Union armies in Tennessee from joining together . Union casualties were 13 @,@ 047 ( 1 @,@ 754 killed , 8 @,@ 408 wounded , and 2 @,@ 885 missing ) ; Grant 's army bore the brunt of the fighting over the two days , with casualties of 1 @,@ 513 killed , 6 @,@ 601 wounded , and 2 @,@ 830 missing or captured . Confederate casualties were 10 @,@ 699 ( 1 @,@ 728 killed , 8 @,@ 012 wounded , and 959 missing or captured ) . The dead included the Confederate army 's commander , Albert Sidney Johnston ; the highest ranking Union general killed was W. H. L. Wallace . Both sides were shocked at the carnage . Three more years of such bloodshed remained and eight larger and bloodier battles were yet to come . Grant later came to realize that his prediction of one great battle bringing the war to a close would probably not occur . The war would continue , at great cost in casualties and resources , until the Confederacy succumbed or the Union was divided . Grant also learned a valuable personal lesson on preparedness that ( mostly ) served him well for the rest of the war . 

contradiction
 The battle occurred in stages : an initial exchange of artillery fire , a minor charge by Confederate Brig. Gen. Lewis Armistead , and three successive waves of Confederate infantry charges triggered by unclear orders from Lee and the actions of Maj. Gens . Magruder and D. H. Hill , respectively . In each phase , the effectiveness of the Federal artillery was the deciding factor , repulsing attack after attack , resulting in a tactical Union victory . After the battle , McClellan and his forces withdrew from Malvern Hill to Harrison 's Landing , where he remained until August 16 . His plan to capture Richmond had been thwarted . 
