Download The Drummer Boy of Shiloh, Cross-Curricular Conn.: Social Studies

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“The Drummer Boy of Shiloh” by Ray Bradbury (text page 6)
Cross-Curricular Connection: Social Studies
The Battle of Shiloh was fought on April 6 and 7, 1862. Thirteen thousand Union soldiers
and ten thousand Confederate soldiers died—the greatest loss of life of any battle ever fought
before on United States soil. Twice the number of soldiers died at Shiloh than during the four
previous battles combined. Regrettably, loss of life on this scale would became commonplace
over the next three years of the Civil War.
Confederate commanders Sidney Johnston and Pierre Beauregard planned the battle as a
surprise attack on the Union forces who were camped near a meeting place called Shiloh
church, in the southwest corner of Tennessee. Tennessee had recently sided with the Union.
The Confederates hoped to force the Yankees out and to regain the state for the South.
Reaching Shiloh was more difficult than the Confederate leaders had expected. Some units
took wrong turns and got lost, while wagons and artillery were slowed down by heavy rains.
What’s more, the Confederate soldiers had been firing their guns to see if the rain-dampened
powder still worked. Beauregard worried that the noise had destroyed all chance of a surprise
attack. Johnston insisted that Union soldiers had been doing the same thing and that the
Union officers suspected nothing. The Confederate soldiers prepared for battle.
At daylight on April 6, thousands of Confederates burst from the woods, firing on the startled, sleepy Union forces. Scrambling into formation, the Union soldiers quickly returned fired.
War raged. The next twelve hours tested the skills of commanders on both sides. Union commander William Tecumseh Sherman rode up and down his line shouting encouragement and
inspiring his troops. Although he was wounded twice and had three horses shot out from
under him, Sherman drove his men on. Confederate commander Johnston was shot in an
artery in his leg on the first day of the battle. He bled to death almost before he realized he’d
been wounded. Beauregard then took command of the Confederate soldiers.
Thousands of soldiers ran from the battle scene. The commanders on both sides continually
reorganized their troops to make up for the deserters and the mounting casualties. A lightning
storm lit up the battlefield the night of April 6. Soldiers got little sleep. On the morning of April
7, the Union army turned the tables on the Confederates, surprising them before breakfast
with an attack. By afternoon, Beauregard and his bone-weary troops were forced to retreat. The
Union soldiers watched them go, too exhausted to pursue them. The Battle of Shiloh did not
prove which was the stronger army—that would take three more years. What Shiloh proved
was that the South would not give up easily.
DIRECTIONS: Use the background information on the Battle of Shiloh to answer these questions.
1. Was the drummer boy in the story on the Union side or the Confederacy side? Explain how
you know.
2. Who was the general who talked to the drummer boy the night before the battle? Explain
how you know.
3. What was the significance of the Battle of Shiloh? How is the battle remembered in history?
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