It might almost be said that this battle saved the Union, for it
showed the Confederates that they would not have it all their own
way on sea, and that if they were building ironclads the Federals
were building them also. And indeed the Government built ships so
fast that by the end of the war, instead of having only about forty
they had over six hundred ship, many of them ironclad.
__________
Chapter 85 - Lincoln - The Battle of Shiloh and the Taking of New
Orleans
With Grant other successes soon followed the taking of Fort Donelson,
and many places both in Kentucky and Tennessee fell into the hands
of the Federals.
By the beginning of April Grant with an army of forty thousand men
lay at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River. At Corinth, about
thirty miles to the south, the Confederates were gathered in equal
force. But although the Confederates were so near and in such
force the Federals took no heed. They had of late won so many easy
victories that they had begun to think lightly of the foe. So no
attempt was made to protect the Union army. No trenches were dug,
and but few scouts were sent out to watch the movements of the
enemy. The Confederate leader, General Johnston, therefore determined
to creep up stealthily, and attack the Federals where they lay in
fancied security.
As secretly as possible he left Corinth, and marched towards
Pittsburg Landing.
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