The Participants - Confederates
Brigadier General Adley, of Bragg’s 2nd Corps, was ordered to move his troops to the East and attack the Union left flank. Gladden discovered the Federals along the East side of a small road in the small field of the Spain family. Gladden deployed his brigade with the 26
th Alabama, 25
th Alabama, 22
nd Alabama, 21
st Alabama and the 1
st Louisiana anchoring the right flank. Robertson’s Alabama Battery with four 12-pounder Napoleon’s was placed in the middle of the line. Gladden was mortally wounded soon after contact by an artillery shell and was replaced by Colonel Daniel Adams of the 1
st Louisiana.
Confederate records are incomplete---partially due to commanding officers being killed and wounded---so we will never know what was said and written officially. The destruction of Richmond and the vast majority of Confederate records has hampered many historians and researchers. One of which I am not.
I have chosen to post what fragments I can find to give one a fair idea of the strength of the Rebels. The total number of present for duty of each regiment of Gladden’s Brigade is unknown but fragment numbers do exist. Seeing that 3 regiments for whom we have some information of those number engaged by average present for duty.
Average present for duty.
22
nd Alabama 435 men
25
th Alabama 305 men
26
th Alabama 440 men
Total 1,200 men (average of 400 men per regiment)
21
st Alabama (Present for Duty not known)
198 casualties
22
nd Alabama (Present for Duty not known)
435 (Number Engaged by Commander’s Report)
25
th Alabama (Present for Duty not known)
305 (Number Engaged by Commander’s Report)
26
th Alabama (Present for Duty not known)
440 (Number Engaged by Commander’s Report)
1
st Louisiana (Present for Duty not known)
Robertson’s Alabama Battery (Present for Duty not known)
Armament:
Four 12-pounder Napoleons
I am using the average of these regiments, 400, to make a total estimated strength of Gladden’s Brigade to 2,400 not counting Robertson’s Battery.
The left flank regiments of Brigadier General Chalmer’s, the 52
nd Tennessee and the 5
th Mississippi swept across the the Eastern part of Spain Field. I have not found any records that denote the number of men in each regiment, however, Brigadier James Chalmers in his brigade report in the Official Records stated his brigade was 2,039** at the beginning of the battle. There were 5 regiments in his brigade which averages out to about 400 men per regiment which raise the total Confederate numbers in this fight to about 3,200 strong.
A combined total of 5,500 plus men fought for 90 minutes in and around a field of about 15 acres (SWAG method) each side doing the best they could to eliminate each other. Also remember there were 3 batteries in this fight with a total of 16 cannons spewing deadly missiles.
Regards
David
Gladden's Brigade Tablet (Position Marker #382 Location E 10)
Gladden's Mortuary Marker (Monument Marker M#016 Location E 10)
Closeup of the plaque on the monument
As there is not a battery display for Robertsons' Alabama Battery I used a photo of this battery's next position just North of Spain Field. Once again I am using photos from the Shiloh Monment Finder website as I have lost mine (Position Marker #386 Location E9)
This a six-pounder Bronze gun, Alger Model 1841, converted to 3.67" rifle
The Tablet for Robertson's Battery
Since I cannot find my photos of Robertson's Battery, I will post some photos of six-pounder Bronze gun, Alger Model 1841, converted to 3.67" rifle located at the Washington Artillery location on the Corinth Road just South of the Shiloh Meeting House.
Washington Artillery Tablet (Position #358 Location B 9)
six-pounder Bronze gun, Alger Model 1841, converted to 3.67" rifle
*
The Battle of Shiloh And The Organizations Engaged by
David W.
Reed
Page 105
https://trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/vie...httpsredir=1&article=1000&context=utk_utpress
**Official Records of the Rebellion
Series 1, Volume X, Part 1
Page 553
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160&view=1up&seq=571&skin=2019&q1=fant