6:00 AM, April 6, General Grant and his troops were cooking breakfast, whenout all-of-a-sudden, General Johnston popped out of nowhere with 55,000 troops and launched a suprize attack on Grant's troops. He had Grant's trooops in full, unorganized retreat.Yet since General Johnston had just marched his troops a very long way to gain the element of suprise, they stopped chaseing the union troops and ate the unfinished breakast lying there from the Union army. This gave time for General Prentiss to set up ranks at the Hornet's Nest. The Confederate troops tore apart Prentiss's troops, yet it gave Grant time to set up behind the Hornet's Nest. But, during the chaos at the Hornet's Nest, General Johnston was shot and mortally wounded, he died later that day. This was a huge loss for the Confederacy. Then, Generals Hardee and Polk attacked the right flank of the Union forces, causeing Generals Sherman and McClernand to retreat, leaving the right side of the Hornet's Nest open. Meanwhile, Breckinridge forced General Hurlburt to retreat, yet instead of chaseing them, the stopped to rest, then later went to help out at the Hornet's Nest. This gave even more time for Generals Sherman, McClernand, and the last of Wallace, Hurlbut, and Stuart's men to realign their ranks, and to join forces with General Wallace's brigade of 5,800 men, who had come to reinforce Grant, along with two ironclads, USS Lexington and USS Tyler. The Confederate's final charge failed at 6:00 PM that night. The Confederates had not pushed the Union west to the swamps, but east, to an easily defendable position, they had failed. They were exaughsted from the relentless day of fighting, and General Buell had showed up with another 15,000 men that night, the Confederates had much to worry about. The next morning at 6:00 AM, Grant led a massive counter-attack toward Beauregard, who still thought they outnumber the Union, but in truth they were outnumbered by about 10,000 men. It took the Confederates several hours to find General Polk's Brigade, who were sleeping somewhere farther back. Grant and Buell led seperate charges with Grant on the left and Buell on the right. They easily drove out the confused, disranked Confederate soldiers and drove them all the way back the Hornet's Nest. In several hours, General Crittenden under Buell regained the Hornet's Nest. In a few more hours, Grant and Buell had driven the Confederates back to were they started on April 6. Beauregard realized that the battle was lost and set up an artillery line behind the Shiloh church. This held off the Union forces from advanceing any further. The battle was over. Grant and Buell's troops headed bach to the camps already made by Sherman and Prentiss. During this process, the Confederate troops conducted an orderly retreat to the South.
