Conquer or Perish

Conquer or Perish. . At Shiloh in early April 1862, General Albert Sidney Johnston sought to attack General Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Tennessee before General Don Carlos Buell's Army of the Ohio arrived from Nashville. Just weeks earlier, the Federals had forced Johnston's Confederate forces to abandon Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. Now, Johnston hoped destruction of Grant's army at Shiloh would turn the tide of the war in the West., The battle began early on Sunday morning, April 6, 1862. By mid-morning, the tide of battle favored the Confederates, as two frontline Union divisions, despite a stubborn defense, were driven north from their camps. Johnston personally encouraged his troops, proclaiming, "Today, we must conquer or perish." Then, at mid-afternoon, while personally directing an attack, Johnston was fatally wounded. As second in command, General Pierre G.T. Beauregard assumed command of the Confederate forces. The Confederates ended the day sure of their victory. The next day, however, with Buell's army having arrived on the battlefield overnight, the tide of battle rapidly reversed, turning against the Confederates and forcing them from the field., I searched but found no [visible] wound upon his body...he expired without pain a few moments after, and about fifteen minutes after he received his death-wound. , Colonel William Preston , Volunteer Aide-de-Camp to General Johnston