Bloddy April

[David]

chilidog

Registered to :Aug 22, 2001
Messages :100
From :Baton Rouge, LA USA
Posted 10-04-2002 at 23:12
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Last weekend (April 6th and 7th) marked the battle of Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing.

Would Johnston have carried the field on the first evening had he not caught that fateful bullet?

chilidog


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Andy

Registered to :Aug 23, 2001
Messages :197
From :Massachusetts
Posted 12-04-2002 at 01:16
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Interesting question but I'm not sure he would have.
How about this, what if it was Grant and/or Sherman who took the bullet? Might that have changed things just a tad?

Stay healthy,
Andy


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chilidog

Registered to :Aug 22, 2001
Messages :100
From :Baton Rouge, LA USA
Posted 12-04-2002 at 23:27
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Andy, is that an understatement or what?!? Yep, that would have been a major impact. Your "and/or" is a good point also. The battle of Leetown (Pea Ridge, Ark.) backs you up. Due to casualties, command devolved to the 4th man in charge and he didn't even know it until late that evening. Defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory. The entire war would have taken a different course if Grant and/or Sherman would have gotten hit.

chilidog


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usmcsgt65

Registered to :Jan 03, 2002
Messages :48
From :Las Vegas, NV
Posted 13-04-2002 at 15:53
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Keep this in mind, during the Civil War, both sides did not like to fight after dark. So once Joe Johnston stopped, it is unlikely that he would have renewed the battle until the next morning.Quote:
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Find out what kind of whiskey he drinks, and sent some to my other generals. A. Lincoln
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Semper Fi


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Tamaroa

Registered to :Aug 21, 2001
Messages :35
From :West Haverstraw, NY
Posted 14-04-2002 at 22:39
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A.S. Johnston was a fairly good general. I was fortunate enough to take a civil war steamboat trip in Tennessee a few years ago. Charles Roland was one of the lecturers on the trip. He wrote a terrific book about Johnston called "A soldier of Three Republics." He gave us a great tour of the battlefield and he and John Y. Simon an authority on Grant battled it out over lecturns just before our tour.

The long and short of it is I think that Johnston's death may have contributed to the demoralization of the Confederate Army, but had he lived, I don't think he would have been effective enough to win the battle on day 2. Up to that point, Shiloh was the bloodiest battle in the civil war. It was eclipsed by Antietam a scant 5 months later.

Johnston was a full general equivalent to a 4 star! He was the second highest rank in Rebeldom behind Samuel Cooper and Robert E. Lee was third. Joe Johnston and Beauregard were 4th and 5th in seniority.