Decisions at Shiloh

The Battle of Shiloh took place April 6–7, 1862, between the Union Army of the Tennessee under General Ulysses S. Grant and the Confederate Army of Mississippi under General Albert Sidney Johnston. Johnston launched a surprise attack on Grant but was mortally wounded during the battle. General P. G. T. Beauregard, taking over command, chose not to press the attack through the night, and Grant, reinforced with troops from the Army of the Ohio, counterattacked the morning of April 7th and turned the tide of the battle. Decisions at Shiloh introduces readers to critical decisions made by Confederate and Union commanders throughout the battle. Dave Powell examines the decisions that prefigured the action and shaped the contest as it unfolded. Rather than a linear history of the battle, Powell’s discussion of the critical decisions presents readers with a vivid blueprint of the battle’s developments. Exploring the critical decisions in this way allows the reader to progress from a sense