The Counterattack Buys Time

The Counterattack Buys Time. . We held this position...sometimes gaining and at other times losing ground, General McClernand and myself acting in perfect concert and struggling to maintain this line. , General William T. Sherman , 5th Division, Army of the Tennessee, Here, at noon on the first day, General Ulysses S. Grant's reinforced Union right slammed into disorganized Confederate troops in a timely counterattack. Union troops, commanded by Generals William T. Sherman and John A. McClernand, captured cannons and recovered some of McClernand's camps. Fierce fighting continued throughout the afternoon as Confederate troops, led by Generals William J. Hardee and Leonidas Polk, fought with equal determination. By mid-afternoon, the depleted Union ranks once again grudgingly gave ground, retiring northward. Ordered to hold, Sherman and McClernand withdrew fighting to a new, stronger position east of Tilghman Branch. The Union right successfully defended this final front and easily repulsed Confederate attempts to seize and hold ground east of the valley. Their efforts paid in blood for what Grant desperately needed, precious time., (captions) , General William T. Sherman, . 1 Reorganized Union right forces the Confederates back. , . 2 The Confederate left attacks again, eventually forcing the Union right to retire northward. , . 3 The Federals Withdraw across Tilghman Branch and establish their final line.