Hornet's Nest: Shiloh Battle with Maps | American Civil War | Pittsburg Landing | Ulysses S. Grant

What was the Hornet's Nest at the Battle of Shiloh?
Why was the Hornet's Nest important?
April 6, 1862. Albert Sidney Johnston moves the Confederate Army of the Mississippi against Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee.
William Tecumseh Sherman and Benjamin Prentiss are surprised as Hardee, Bragg, Polk, and Breckinridge hit. McClernand, WHL Wallace, and Hurlbut advance to meet the confederates.
WHL Wallace moves Sweeny and Tuttle into a sunken road near Duncan Field. Hurlbut moves Williams and Lauman to Sarah Bell Field.
Withers division advances with Gladden (Adams), Jackson, and Chalmers. They hit Hurlbut. However, they are diverted by Stuart's brigade further to the right.
Rebels move across Duncan field, but they are stopped by Union artillery and Tuttle's Iowans.
Braxton Bragg orders Gibson's brigade to storm up the Eastern Corinth Road. They are stopped by Hickenlooper's cannons, Prentiss men, and Tuttle's brigade.
Albert Sidney Johnston moves his men back to the Sarah Bell field. However, McArthur's brigade is now up. A standstill occurs here. However, Johnston brings up Breckinridge's brigades under Bowen and Statham. Stephens (Maney) also comes up.
Johnston takes the peach orchard, but he himself is killed. Beaureguard is now the commander of the rebel army.
Ulysses S. Grant tells Prentiss to hold the Hornet's Nest at all hazards.
Daniel Ruggles brings up artillery, and a massive artillery duel occurs. The Hornet's Nest defenders are now enfiladed.
Prentiss and WHL Wallace's divisions are now isolated. The confederates surround the defenders at the Hornet's Nest.
The rebels are surrounding the defenders. WHL Wallace will attempt to lead the defenders out the Pittsburg Corinth Road. However, the rebels close the road.
WHL Wallace is mortally wounded. Tuttle leads the 2nd Iowa and 7th Iowa out of the trap, but 2200 Union soldiers are taken prisoner.
A documentary by Jeffrey Meyer, historian and librarian

[@nowthisnamestaken]

What do I want for Father's day? Another Jeffery the librarian video... Wait, what? Always ready for another Video . The level of detail is always amazing. I enjoy the way you use inflection in your speech and your cadence. Thanks, Happy fathers day. Like #11 Now if you'll excuse me, I have a video to watch.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you for the nice note! That made my day!

[@lllordllloyd]

Thanks Jeffrey. Last month I made my first ever visit to the US and spent a day at Gettysburg and an afternoon at Harper's Ferry. I have read many books, seen documentaries, but your channel is the best of all for battlefield interpretation. Greetings from Tasmania.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

[@aaronfleming9426]

What a fantastic video! I'm going to Shiloh in two weeks for my first visit and I feel these videos are going to make my experience much richer.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! Have fun at Shiloh!

[@2013jpm]

Bragg, with his one-brigade-at-a-time attacks, is maddening.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

There was no way one brigade at a time could make it through the Hornet's Nest.

[@patrickmorton2388]

Yet, that's what Bragg sent.

[@automaticmattywhack1470]

Keep making these and I'll keep watching them. Thanks you for your hard work!

[@stevenpatriquin4640]

I've been to Shiloh twice now. These presentations are awesome to watch. Thanks.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@wife9571]

as a new subscriber i can’t say this with absolute conviction, but i highly suspect i will never ever grow tired of this sort of breakdown. a history buff, a geography nut, or a wargamer would all enjoy this immensely; luckily for me i’m all 3 :) thank you ever so much for your work, jeffery!

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! I appreciate that!

[@anathardayaldar]

Imagine going to grade school with a name like Hurlbutt.

[@Yakomoe]

He had a cousin Lipschitz

[@TheTacoBandit1]

This content is simply amazing. Myself and everyone else are most appreciative of your efforts sir. Thank you.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! That means a lot to me.

[@keeftaylor834]

The battle of Shiloh always seemed to me to be a very confusing battle. It wasn't until I finally visited the battlefield this February that it really became apparent why: terrain, terrain, terrain. This most excellently researched and well produced video has made me realize the battle even more. You provide very outstanding historical content, and your passion reflects it. Thank you. I'd like to share some information that makes this battle more personal. At the Shiloh Battlefield Cemetery, there is one grave marker you see first...and it's the last one counted. It's set out in front of all others. The grave stones at Shiloh are quite humbling because the majority are reduced to a roughly 6x6 cement stone marker sticking out of the ground with a number...no name...simply a number (this was long before "dog tags" were conceived). "HENRY BURKE...DRUMMER...58TH REGT...OHIO INF." Henry Burke was a 13 year old boy, serving as a drummer, and killed in the Hornet's Nest. His gravestone is numbered "3589," the last grave of the post-war re-interred soldiers in the National Cemetery to be counted, but the first you see.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you for the information. That is very humbling, and it's terrible to think of children being in this battle. Many of the union soldiers were reburied by the American Red Cross (Clara Barton). There's a great book on this subject called "This Republic of Suffering."

[@hampsmith3775]

Very nice untangling of the Hornet”s Nest fight. I would add that the 1st Minnesota Light Artillery “Munch’s Battery” was also there with the 5th Ohio Battery. Two sections of the 1st MN were stationed on Prentiss’ flanks. The third section of the battery was disabled early in the battle. The 5th Ohio had also lost a section of guns in the initial fighting as Spaen field. Hampton Smith - retired librarian Minnesota Historical Society.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you for watching! I think you're right that I didn't mention Munch's battery. I did highlight his area (at the junction of the eastern corinth road and the sunken road) when I mention union batteries along the sunken road.

[@leivabernie]

These are the best Jeff. Thanks very much!!

[@morefiction3264]

You tell these stories well.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@Mag_Aoidh]

I’ve slept in those woods so many times. One ancestor still sleeps there 161 years later.

[@ihamptonii]

Very good presentation of the battle. Nice, slow, and deliberate. Thank you for making this video.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@Odonanmarg]

Well done and thorough.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@cbroma2007]

Excellent presentation, as usual.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@troykrehbiel]

Great video! Going to have to research the 8th Iowa now.

[@stevearchtoe7039]

Excellent as always. As a suggestion for future videos, you could follow a company throughout the war. Our family recently met with the WI state historical society to trace my moms great great grandfather in the civil war. We always thought he fought at Antietam (every one does lol) but turns out they were more western arena…AS, red river, mobile AL. Turns out they were near (not in) Galveston on the first Juneteenth. I think it was the WI 4th or 5th (Watertown WI boys). We found his grave in the Watertown WI cemetery.

[@chriskolar2436]

Great production. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I like the map use too.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

I appreciate it!

[@GeraldWalker-pg3vr]

You get a sense of the violence and blood letting from the Hornets nest account than any civil war battle....this account is frightening!!!!!

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Hornet's Nest was brutal. The Midwesterners held strong, and this ultimately gave Grant the time he needed to prepare a counterattack the next day.

[@WillMasters]

Nice presentation as always. Once again I'm reminded of how abysmal Union cavalry operations were this early in the war. Inadequate screening and reconnaissance on the part of the cavalry allowed the Union army to be caught by surprise by a skillful opponent.

[@lisamoore6804]

My great-great-great grandpa was with the 4th KY Infantry for the Union. Braxton Bragg was a commander at the battle of Chickamauga as well. (Where my great-great-great grandpa was) Great video.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! That's great that you know about your ancestor in the war.

[@lisamoore6804]

@@JeffreytheLibrarian He was injured and a POW. I know he live to be in his 60's so he did get released. I don't know anything on how, haven't been able to find anything.

[@michaelhoffman5348]

Nice job, Jeffrey - keep up the good work.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@Squatch_Rider66]

Amazing presentation great video. Can’t wait for the next day Union counterattack video.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you, sir!

[@wes2262]

In Ultimate General it’s sucks playing as the Union at first because you just get overwhelmed at all points until you get up by Pittsburg Landing and then it gets fun b/c you have gunboats helping you with huge cannon shots

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

I actually got a chance to play that scenario, and it does a good job of simulating the confusion of not knowing how many rebels are coming your way or from which direction.

[@lamwen03]

The courageous decision to stand at the Hornet's Nest, even when it was clear that there was a major risk of being flanked and captured, ended up giving the Union the winning position.

[@robertreisner8132]

More killed, wounded and missing during the 2 day battle at Shilo than all that cost in the Revolutionary War. It was the first large battle in the Civil War. Later it was the 10th most costly battle in the war. Over taken by Sharpsburg, Fredricksburg, Chancellorville, Gettysburg, Petersburg and other large battles. Stonesriver, Vicksburg, and the Tennessee battles. Yes in the 19th century these soldiers were the greatest generation. For those who survived were scarred for what they saw. God Bless them all.

[@marhot]

Very good video. The best, most detailed explanation of the fight around the Hornet's Nest I've seen. Proud to say my GGgrandfather was in the 8th Iowa, Co.F . He was one of the few that did not get captured.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

That's neat that you have the family history linking back to the Hornet's Nest. Thanks for watching!

[@alexbardoux7297]

So clear and so detailed . I would have enjoyed to see images of the real places .

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thanks for watching!

[@brycebehnke9566]

Another great video!

[@DarkFilmDirector]

My ancestor was in the 22nd Mississippi Co K "Pegue's Defenders", that regiment was in Statham's Brigade in this battle. His name was Albert Monroe Johnston. I do not know or believe there was any relation to the General Albert Sidney Johnston, though Albert's father was born in central Kentucky and General Johnston was born in northeast Kentucky. There was another man in his regiment who's name I forget but mentioned he witnessed General Johnston galloping up and down the front line with his sabre out, touching the men's bayonets as he rode along. He was a gallant commander but he galloped too far ahead of the attacking brigades and probably got struck by friendly fire. My ancestor survived the battle and held out for the long, miserable siege at Corinth, MS. His service went on much longer in other engagements.

[@tootle_soup]

My 4th great grandfather served in the 34th Iowa infantry company D. He was the fifer. I’m so proud to have a blood relative serve. Two of his sons served also. He saw Chickasaw bayou and then participated in the fr Arkansas battle. He passed from disease that feb. 1863

[@OldHickoryAndyJackson]

Bragg was one that assembled the Artillery barrage into the Hornets Nest

[@SgtMjr]

Sherman; 'Well Grant we've had the Devil's own day'. 'Yup' said Grant 'Lick 'em tomorrow though'.

[@mu0FFpu0FF]

This channel is going to explode soon.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you for watching! I appreciate your optimism.

[@mu0FFpu0FF]

@@JeffreytheLibrarian I appreciate your channel. Truly one of very few who legitimately interest me. I'd recommend using more pictures from the time period, houses, cities. I know there's not many, and hard to use accurately. It always interested me to see things from older times. After 100k subs your channel will grow exponentially

[@tomwitte6369]

After watching a few of your excellent videos, something occurred to me. Instead of using current imagery from Google Maps and such, it may be worth checking the gov't websites of the counties that contain the battlefield areas to see if they have a publicly accessibly GIS mapping system. Many counties now do. If so, aerial photography for mapping purposes, etc., began in the 1920's and most GIS sites allow you to switch between the aerial photos. You may be lucky to find aerial images that are sixty years removed from the time of battle instead of 160 years. Great tactical and strategic video's, keep them coming.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! I will add more topography into these videos. Thank you for the recommendation.

[@lucasjordan7091]

Amazing

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Much appreciated!

[@stevemartinez4007]

Good old frontal assault…works every time…..also, really appreciate the random squirrel footage

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! I wanted to distinguish my version of the Hornet's Nest from others. I think I'm the only one with squirrels. But hey, the squirrels were there.

[@sebastienhardinger4149]

Do you know why Hurlbut set his troops forward into Sarah Bell Field, rather than positioning them behind the sunken road and in the cover of trees like Prentis and Tuttle?

[@TheBassPlayer100]

Excellent!

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you!

[@ancienttartan3509]

I have walked the length of the Hornet's Nest and have done a lot of research on the 23rd Missouri. I think this video has gotten some things commonly wrong about the 23rd. The regiment did not arrive by boat the morning of the battle. They arrived the night before, and set up camp right above the landing (probably where the cemetery is today). When they marched to the battle, they expected to reach Prentiss' camp and get their ammunition THERE. They figured out they were wrong, did an about face, and marched back to the landing to get .54 caliber ammo for their Austrian Lorenz rifles. Then they marched back again, getting put in place next to Prentiss just in time for the first confederate charge through the thicket.

[@justinH2548]

When the cs brought up the 61 guns to shell the nest....looking at the graphic...only 3 to 4 batteries had open field of fire. Or was the forest " woodlots' like at gettysburg. Very little underbrush and saplings thus making the federal line in the nest much more visible to the gunners and exposed to the ordnance? Or was duncan field much much larger at the time of the battle? Oh ....or did they just give em hell regardless ? I havent studied this battle in great detail yet so please forgive my ignorance.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

The ground in the woods to the south of Duncan Field is higher ground, so the cannon were firing from an elevated position. Also, the woods weren't yet green that early in spring, so I imagine they could see the blue lines through the bare timber.

[@justinH2548]

​@@JeffreytheLibrarian Thank you for responding. I did forget about the greenery being scarcely out yet. Also I did not know about the terrain. I watched one of Tim Smiths walks he did with a group, following ....Chalmers I want to say...anyhow, to see some of that terrain and how up and down into creek bottoms it is was surprising. I always pictured the field as flat mostly.

[@thekinkypinkies7437]

My gg grandfather fought here. Captain John Campbell Kennan of the 8th Iowa. Last to surrender, after facing 6 assaults.

[@josww2]

Another great battle breakdown! It looks to me like Bragg ordered Gibson and others to keep charging the center in order to fix the Union line in place, so that he could roll the whole line up from the east. Or was Bragg actually hoping to break through the center there?

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you! I think the rebel commanders were sending men in to the areas where they heard the sound of the guns. The topography is very wooded, and co-ordination is very hard, so they were just throwing regiments and brigades into the thicket where they heard resistance. All forward.

[@mrdinkelpuss4000]

Giving the people what they want. Thank you so much for another one of these great civil war videos! You make them better than anyone.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Thank you so much!

[@ml50486965]

great work! But you cold have been more specific about the losses!

[@mackenzieblair8135]

The sunken road isn’t really sunken. It was a decision by early historians of the battle to give features of the field names (much like the actual Sunken Road at Sharpsburg). The Hornet’s Nest is also often mistaken as the federal position when in reality it’s the thicket of woods at Premtiss’ front. The name was coined by a confederate who found himself in those woods and described it as a Hornet’s Nest.

[@josh656]

“S-s-s-s-s-snake Creek? H-h-how’d it get that name??”

[@thebluefox6494]

My 4x Great Grandfather was an 18 year old private apart of the 14th Iowa and was captured when his regiment surrendered

[@mrstitches3177]

Where's the 1st Minnesota Light Artillery under Prentiss?

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Prentiss's division gets hit first and regroups at the country lane. I think by then it was fairly disorganized in that division, as some had fled back to the river, while others reorganized to make the stand. His men get jumbled into "remnants of Prentiss" at the country lane.

[@amotaba]

Do you intend to make a video of the civil war like that you did of the French and Indian war (a full summary)? As a brazilian i would apreciate a lot it, because i don't know much about the civil war but the political side

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Yes, I will keep doing different formats with different scales.

[@automaticmattywhack1470]

Do we know if the Hickenlooper in the battle is a relation of the Colorado governor John Hickenlooper? Addendum: it is a relation. It was John's great-grandfather Andrew Hickenlooper who fought at Shiloh!

[@tgmccoy1556]

My Gr. Grandfather was in the 8th Iowa.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Awesome that you have that connection to your ancestor.

[@capnstewy55]

Pugh Pugh, down goes Johnston.

[@myMikeable]

Criminal how few views this has!

[@scottanno8861]

Did the 23rd Missouri speak German? I know earlier in the war most federal forces in Missouri were first generation Germans

[@AM-jw1lo]

You know this could have been a much better video if you hadn't used google maps as the basis of your mapping, the trees that are there today make the whole of your presentation..... odd to say the least.

[@JeffreytheLibrarian]

Actually, I think the Park Service keeps the forest/field areas as they were in 1862. It was thickly wooded at the battle.

[@guytrout7101]

My gg grandfather, Fountain May served in the 23 MO and was captured and died in a Confederate prisoner of war camp.