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At the infamous Hornets nest during the Battle of Shiloh the union forces hold off the rebels giving Gen. Grant extra time to bring up reinforcements.
Eventually Gen. Prentiss surrenders the Hornets nest position to the rebel and is consider a hero by the public of that day and later by historians. Gen. Grant doesn't consider what Prentiss did during the Battle of Shiloh as important as the public or historians do.
So who is more correct Historians or Gen. Grant about Gen. Prentiss at Shiloh?
Does Gen. Grant know something Historians are forgetting about at Pittsburgh's Landing?
Does Gen. Grant just not like Gen. Prentiss as some Historians claim?
There was Gen. W.H.L. Wallace who's men where at Sunken road and fought as well as Gen. Prentiss men did at the Hornets nest. The action at Sunken road cost Gen. W.H.L. Wallace life but no claims of being a hero. Where is the justice for Gen. Wallace?
__________________
"States Rights are about States Wrongs" - Jesse Jackson
Just for grins, I just checked the audiobook of Shiloh by Shelby Foote out of the library (a 45 minute commute each way and I get a lot of my "reading" done with books on tape).
Given my current ignorance, I will have to defer on the question.
__________________ "There must be more historians of the Civil War than there were generals figthing in it... Of the two groups, the historians are the more belligerent." David Donald, Lincoln Reconsidered (1961)
Prentiss, Hurlbut and Wallace saved the Federal's butt that day. The rebs dashed themselves fruitlessly on that line, and frittered away what ought to have been their day to shine.
It's one of those historical what ifs.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
Prentiss, Hurlbut and Wallace saved the Federal's butt that day. The rebs dashed themselves fruitlessly on that line, and frittered away what ought to have been their day to shine.
It's one of those historical what ifs.
ole
.
So, why is Grant reluctant to recognize this?
Do you(Ole) think Grant may have felt safe at Pittsburgh Landing so Prentiss, Hurlbut, and Wallace stands were grand but not a major factor that day?
__________________
"States Rights are about States Wrongs" - Jesse Jackson
5fish, much of history was written post war in reminisces by the soldiers. Also, Shiloh was the first National Battlefields established and many of the monuments were placed by the accounts given by the veterans who tended to embellish and magnify their accomplishments. Somehow my memory seems to think that one of the first advisers to the battlefield commission was a veteran of Prentiss's brigade and he did have a tendency to throw more light on that area of the battlefield. States/regts that could raise more funds for more monuments tended to receive more attention from the public because of these markers.
I am not so sure that Grant neglected the other generals heroism(s) and deeds but more that, the Prentiss backers sort of wrote the history.
__________________
'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'
Mark Twain
Please excuse. I was not aware that Prentiss got short shrift in the reports of the time. His guys, with Hurlbut's and Wallace's, certainly held to their place and quite possibly saved the day.
ole
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
I have seen claims that Grant downplayed Prentiss' contribution to the battle, but have not found direct quotes from Grant Yet. It is possible, some infer Grant's downplaying of the Hornet's Nest, when comparing his comments on it with his fulsome praise of Sherman and his men.
There is little doubt of Sherman being one of Grant's particularly favorite commander and sometimes had a tendency to ascribe any success to Sherman a little too quickly. IMO sometimes it was deliberate and othertimes it flowed naturally from his genuine friendship with Sherman.
It is difficult from this distance to say for sure, but Grant's failures at Shiloh were blatant and obvious to his superiors. With all eyes on him it would have been a natural response to try to draw attention to a commander who performed well during the battle that Grant thought could be trusted to not use his fame to angle for Grant's own job.
From the Historical Perspective the actions of Prentiss and Sherman, were both decisive in saving Grant's bacon.
Johnston's original plan was to make the Union Left (Johnston's Right) the center of the main attack, so as to get between Grants Army and AWAY its base on the Tn River and drive it to destruction in the Marshy area of the Owl and lick Creeks. But Beauregard either misunderstood Johnston's plan OR ignored it, because his words and orders indicated he wanted to attack all along the line and drive the Union Army to destruction INTO the Tennessee. Prentiss foiled Johnston's original plan and Sherman foiled Beauregard's.
Very humanly, but incorrectly, Grant, May have tended to recognize Sherman's contribution to the resulting victory than Prentiss'. recognized Sherman's contribution to victory more than Prentiss'. In any case in todays abbreviated CW history classes in our schools, if Shiloh is mentioned at all, Prentiss and the Hornet's Nest usually gets top billing.
The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield
Timothy B. Smith is a former ranger at SHiloh and wrote a book about the creation of the park called, The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield. In it he explains about some the contrevery about Prentiss. Part of the problem was D. W. Reed the parks first historian was in Prentiss' Division. He played up his part. Smith goes into this in his book. The best book is Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 by Edward Cunningham, one of Smith's mentors. Both books are excellent reads. I was lucky enough to have Smith speak to my Civil War roundtable about this and catch him a few days later at the park and he took me around. He is now at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, I think.
Timothy B. Smith is a former ranger at SHiloh and wrote a book about the creation of the park called, The Untold Story of Shiloh: The Battle and the Battlefield. In it he explains about some the contrevery about Prentiss. Part of the problem was D. W. Reed the parks first historian was in Prentiss' Division. He played up his part. Smith goes into this in his book. The best book is Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 by Edward Cunningham, one of Smith's mentors. Both books are excellent reads. I was lucky enough to have Smith speak to my Civil War roundtable about this and catch him a few days later at the park and he took me around. He is now at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, I think.
Civilwarbuglertn
This is the report that I had read and reffered to earlier....
__________________
'If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed,
if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed.'
Mark Twain
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Hornets Nest and Gen. Prentiss..? 
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