- Joined
- Mar 21, 2012
Mid-morning, April 6, 1862, Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, near the Shiloh Church ...... As Confederate battle lines emerged from the woods, the Colonel of a green Ohio regiment in their path yelled out in panic, " Retreat! Save yourselves!". The regiment followed the Colonel in flight to the rear. Two companies that were separated from the rest of the regiment by a ravine didn't hear the retreat order and remained in their position.
The two companies of rookies were about to crack as an Illinois regiment began to fall in beside them. A private in the Illinois outfit, a veteran of Fort Donelson and known for his coolness under fire, was dispatched to do what he could to calm the shaken rookies down. He circulated among them, giving instructions on the use of their muskets telling them, "I've met the elephant before, and the way to do it is to keep cool,shoot slow and aim low. Why, its just like shooting squirrels, only these squirrels have guns, that's all." The young Hoosiers began to do better, and soon their mentor rejoined his regiment that was pulling back, calling out "Good-by!". The Hoosiers held for awhile, but were forced to retreat.
Although they ran at Pittsburgh Landing, the Hoosier regiment compiled a respectable combat record through the rest of the war, participating in nearly 20 major engagements and campaigns, including The March to The Sea.
1. Who was the Ohio regiment that broke and ran ?
2. Who were the two companies in the Ohio regiment that remained in their position ?
3. Who was the Illinois private who assisted in calming down the two rookie Ohio companies ?
4. What regiment did the Illinois private belong to ?
Bonus: The Ohio regiment's Colonel sounded the alarm so many times before the Battle of Shiloh that the regiment gained a unique nickname. What was the nickname ?
Edit - Will the person who submitted these questions please identify yourself, either by sending me a private message or by entering a post in the thread stating that you submitted them?
I can't give credit to the question submitter if I don't know who it is.
hoosier (Incidentally, I am somewhat surprised to see that the question seems to refer to soldiers from Ohio as Hoosiers. I'm not from Indiana myself - my user name stems from the fact that I grew up in Hoosick Falls, NY - but it is my understanding that the term Hoosier is normally applied to people from Indiana, not from Ohio.)
Second Edit - Warbird43 has identified himself as author of these questions, so he will get credit for doing so.
He has also assured me that the regiment in question was from Ohio, not Indiana.
hoosier
The two companies of rookies were about to crack as an Illinois regiment began to fall in beside them. A private in the Illinois outfit, a veteran of Fort Donelson and known for his coolness under fire, was dispatched to do what he could to calm the shaken rookies down. He circulated among them, giving instructions on the use of their muskets telling them, "I've met the elephant before, and the way to do it is to keep cool,shoot slow and aim low. Why, its just like shooting squirrels, only these squirrels have guns, that's all." The young Hoosiers began to do better, and soon their mentor rejoined his regiment that was pulling back, calling out "Good-by!". The Hoosiers held for awhile, but were forced to retreat.
Although they ran at Pittsburgh Landing, the Hoosier regiment compiled a respectable combat record through the rest of the war, participating in nearly 20 major engagements and campaigns, including The March to The Sea.
1. Who was the Ohio regiment that broke and ran ?
2. Who were the two companies in the Ohio regiment that remained in their position ?
3. Who was the Illinois private who assisted in calming down the two rookie Ohio companies ?
4. What regiment did the Illinois private belong to ?
Bonus: The Ohio regiment's Colonel sounded the alarm so many times before the Battle of Shiloh that the regiment gained a unique nickname. What was the nickname ?
Edit - Will the person who submitted these questions please identify yourself, either by sending me a private message or by entering a post in the thread stating that you submitted them?
I can't give credit to the question submitter if I don't know who it is.
hoosier (Incidentally, I am somewhat surprised to see that the question seems to refer to soldiers from Ohio as Hoosiers. I'm not from Indiana myself - my user name stems from the fact that I grew up in Hoosick Falls, NY - but it is my understanding that the term Hoosier is normally applied to people from Indiana, not from Ohio.)
Second Edit - Warbird43 has identified himself as author of these questions, so he will get credit for doing so.
He has also assured me that the regiment in question was from Ohio, not Indiana.
hoosier
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