Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War

by Larry J. Daniel

Book Overview

The battle of Shiloh, fought in April 1862 in the wilderness of south central Tennessee, marked a savage turning point in the Civil War. In this masterful book, Larry Daniel re-creates the drama and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0684803755
• ISBN13: 9780684803753
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 430 Pages
• Weight: 1.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.5" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Daniel does a good job examining Shiloh

I cannot find the reference in my memory, but I do recall a line in some work on the Civil War in which a veteran soldier says something like "I wasn't so bad scared since Shiloh." Shiloh was the first monster battle of the Civil War. Prior to this contestation, the major battles included First Manassas (or First Bull Run), Wilson's Creek, Pea Ridge (or Elkhorn Tavern), and Forts Henry and Donelson. None was anything like Shiloh. Larry Daniel's book is a detailed and very readable accounting of this battle. Quite useful are the maps included in the book. After the collapse of the Confederate line with Grant's victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, General Albert S. Johnston felt that he had to retreat. With General P. G. T. Beauregard, he contemplated an effort to recover the painful losses from the retreat. And thus, the movement toward Shiloh began. After the capture of the Confederate forts, Grant moved to Pittsburg Landing, to await the arrival of General Don Carlos Buell's army. Together, they would move out to attack further south. In the meantime, the southern forces began a major effort to strengthen the units under Generals Beauregard and Johnston, including Braxton Bragg's forces. The "southern Napoleon," Beauregard developed an aggressive plan to surprise and attack Grant. Stunningly, Grant made himself an inviting target by not fortifying his position, an idea supported by his increasingly good friend William T. Sherman. The southern army moved to the attack, with all sorts of mishaps in the process. The fact that the attack was still a surprise is an example of the oblivious northern army not paying attention to facts on the ground. Once the battle began, chaos ensured. The disposition of the Confederate Army was flawed; the Union army lost much ground. Johnston was killed; Beauregard took command of the southern forces. Many future officers of renown, such as Pat Cleburne, got their first major taste of battle and command here. By the end of the day, the southerners were in reasonably good shape, but they could not drive Grant's force into the Tennessee River. Meanwhile, elements of Buell's Army arrived. The next day, Grant, imperturbable even though he had almost lost the day, began a counterattack and ultimately drove Beauregard's army from the field. Both Union and Confederate leaders were stunned by the bloodiness and carnage associated with this battle. It was unlike anything that had gone before and foreshadowed the major bloodletting of later battles. Grant's career was almost undone. However, as Daniel points out (page 311), ". . .Shiloh had been a tremendous strategic victory for the North. . . ." Few recognized that at the time, but it was so. This is a well written, well researched book that remains an outstanding rendering of the first titanic battle of the Civil War.

Best Account of Shiloh

Daniel takes the reader into the battle, relating minor incidents, quoting company-grade officers and enlisted men and talking about the movements of artillery batteries and infantry companies. He doesn't neglect the generals and politicians, but the lesser luminaries breathe life into his story. The heroes who emerge in Shiloh are the small-unit commanders. The book is thoroughly researched and annotated, with statistics in an appendix and excellent references. It contains detailed chapter notes and a marvelous bibliography. Daniel's battle maps are well-rendered and easy to understand at a glance. Shiloh is an excellent read for someone with more than a cursory interest in the Civil War. Some reviewers indicated they liked the book but thought parts were confusing. I found it very easy to read and understand and it avaided too much of the tactical detail (who is on the right of who) which I find confusing in many very highly praised classic works. Most of the professional reviews of this book, civil waruffs and book reviewers, that I have seen highly praise this book.

VERY READABLE HISTORY OF A CRUCIAL CIVIL

Shiloh : The Battle That Changed the Civil War by Larry J. Daniel is a fine history of the first bloody battle of the Civil War. While much of the book follows the troop movements that occurred during the two day battle, the strength of the book is when Daniel moves away from the specifics of the battle and deals with the personalties involved as well as its cause and effect.The book is well written, although it is difficult to follow much of the discussion concerning specific troop movements and the maps are not that helpful. However, that does not detract from the fine descriptions of the major players and their strengths and weaknesses. While Daniel is justifiedly critical of all of the major players, he is perhaps too forgiving of Sherman's role in allowing the surprise attack to occur.Daniel goes to lengths to describe how Grant manipulated the situation to ensure that Sherman would be the senior Division Commander present at Pittsburg Landing, but then does not sufficiently discus his failure to have the troops entrench. It was that failure that allowed the Confederate surprise attack to almost succeed. The above failure aside this was a very readable history of a crucial Civil War battle.

Informative

I read the book and visited the battlefield. Daniel described the battle and the implications competently. Who cares if he referred to Beauregard as the "Creole"? I knew who he was talking about. Besides it is easier to type. Maybe he should have referred to Grant as "The Drunk" to make it more balanced.

OK historical account of this famous battle

This was the first (and so far only) book I had read on this famous battle and I must say that at times I found the book to be confusing. Overall the book provided a good account of the battle and it was an enjoyable read. The author provides 15 detailed and easy to understand maps of the action and a number of photographs of the battle area and personalities. I must say however that the book did not get me involved as other books I have read on the Civil War. I did not get a feel for the soldiers or the Generals and the narrative on the fighting did not draw me into the text like Sears, Priest or Rhea. This was still a good book but not great!