It never hurts to plant suggestions into the considerate thoughts of Richard and Ken as they prepare for another year of hopefully more ACW rollouts. A great theme to consider is the epic April 1862 Battle of Shiloh. A tremendous matchup of General's Albert Sydney Johnston and Ulysses S. Grant. A terrific swirling fight that took place late in the battle was a spirited confrontation at Fallen Timbers six miles southwest of Pittsburgh Landing where Grant ordered Gen. William T. Sherman to pursue the retreating Confederates. Sherman marched two infantry brigades along with two battalions of cavalry and joined forces with a division of infantry from General Don Carlos Buells's Army of the Ohio towards an extensive Confederate encampment that included a field hospital treating wounded survivors of the core battle. Blocking the road into the encampment was a few hundred yards of chopped down trees. The Rebel defense was anchored by a 300 man cavalry force led by the venerable General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
What ensued was a swirling attack of a penetrating Union infantry regiment. A courageous counter charge led by Forrest himself repleat with shotguns, horse pistols and sabres being used at short range. Sherman is almost captured. A Union Brigade forms up and repels the countercharge. In that exchange Forrest being isolated charging many yards ahead of his men on horseback is seriously wounded but manages to escape after absorbing a direct musket blast. Sherman leads the troops into the Confederate encampment only to withdraw amid an uncertain condition of battlefield strength, logistics and position.
No Fallen Timbers was not obviously the core "Hornet's Nest" of this costly battle. But this fight had a lot of real spectacular elements: Compelling legendary personalities, spirited application of both infantry and cavalry movements, a pitched action that featured various changes in advantage to the outcome and a result that left much to be explained. It is a decent study in the last stage of the Battle of Shiloh and worthy of a series of figurines including Union 77th Ohio Infantry, Forrest's rowdy band of cavalry, Confederate rear guard infantry led by Gen. John C. Breckinridge volleying off covering fire, a team of soldiers and medical personel manning the field hospital and some Union Cavalry riding in conjunction with the deployed force. It is a case of making an early war circa 1862 ACW western theatre rollout that has a ton of great history and a lot of depth and texture.
What ensued was a swirling attack of a penetrating Union infantry regiment. A courageous counter charge led by Forrest himself repleat with shotguns, horse pistols and sabres being used at short range. Sherman is almost captured. A Union Brigade forms up and repels the countercharge. In that exchange Forrest being isolated charging many yards ahead of his men on horseback is seriously wounded but manages to escape after absorbing a direct musket blast. Sherman leads the troops into the Confederate encampment only to withdraw amid an uncertain condition of battlefield strength, logistics and position.
No Fallen Timbers was not obviously the core "Hornet's Nest" of this costly battle. But this fight had a lot of real spectacular elements: Compelling legendary personalities, spirited application of both infantry and cavalry movements, a pitched action that featured various changes in advantage to the outcome and a result that left much to be explained. It is a decent study in the last stage of the Battle of Shiloh and worthy of a series of figurines including Union 77th Ohio Infantry, Forrest's rowdy band of cavalry, Confederate rear guard infantry led by Gen. John C. Breckinridge volleying off covering fire, a team of soldiers and medical personel manning the field hospital and some Union Cavalry riding in conjunction with the deployed force. It is a case of making an early war circa 1862 ACW western theatre rollout that has a ton of great history and a lot of depth and texture.
