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This
document was distributed to the troops on the evening of April 5,
1862. According to Timothy B. Smith's book on Shiloh (Shiloh: Conquer or Perish, University Press of Kansas, 2014), it was largely well-received by the troops.
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Soldiers of the Army of the Mississippi:
I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country. With
the resolution and disciplined valor becoming men fighting, as you are, for all
worth living or dying for, you can but march to a decisive victory over
agrarian mercenaries, sent to subjugate and despoil you of your liberties,
property, and your honor. Remember the dependence of your mothers, your wives,
your sisters, and our children on the result. Remember the fair, broad, abounding
land, the happy homes, and ties that will be desolated by your defeat. The eyes
and hopes of 8,000,000 of people rest upon you. You are expected to show
yourselves worthy of your valor and lineage; worthy of the women of the South,
whose noble devotion in this war has never been exceeded in any time. With such
incentives to brave deeds and with the trust that God is with us your generals
will lead you confidently to the combat, assured of success."
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Back to Civil War Chronologies (Main page) Back to Chronology of the Henry-Donelson-Shiloh Campaign Source: The Official Records, Vol. X, Part 1, pp. 396--97. Date added to website: August 31, 2025. |
