Battle of Shiloh Speech

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Speech Outline: The Battle of Shiloh Introduction • On April 6th, 1862, 40,000 Confederate soldiers under the command of General Albert Johnston poured out of the woods to attack the Union soldiers occupying ground near Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. With shoots ringing through the air, The Battle of Shiloh had begun. Ulysses Grant’s army was camped at Pittsburg Landing where they drilled raw recruits and awaiting reinforcements of Buell’s army before moving in to attack Johnston in Corinth. Johnston made sure he would attack the landing before the armies untied and he would become out numberd. The Surprise Attack. • Aware of Grants ideal location and strength Johnston knew he had to act fast before Buell’s men arrived. The morning surprise attack was part of Johnston’s battle plan to get between Grants men and the Tennessee River. The Unions army had greatly retreated by early afternoon but few federalists dug in to fight. This area became known as the Hornets Nest. Confederates named the location this because, they said, the enemy's bullets sounded like swarms of angry hornets. The Hornets Nest • The Hornet's Nest refers to a nearly six-hundred-yard stretch of what came to be known as the Sunken Road in the center of the battlefield and was the scene of heavy combat on both days of the battle. The Confederate General Ruggles lead 11 unsuccessful battles against the Hornet’s Nest. At the front Johnston was encouraging his men when he was hit. The medics couldn’t find the entrance wound before he bleeds to death. Johnston remains the highest-ranking American military officer ever to be killed in action Eventually the hornets net had become completely surrounded and the Union had to surrender their stand. The ones who stayed and fought had to surrender but this gave Grant enough time to reorganize his late defensive line. • Shiloh
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