Grant's Last Line - Tour Stop #1

Siege Guns on Grant's Last Line

NPS Photo

Quick Facts

Location:

Shiloh, TN

Significance:

Final defensive postion establish by Federals before launching counterattack against Confederates

Designation:

National Park, National Register of Historic Places

Amenities

1 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits

The siege guns in front of you mark the position of Captain Relly Madison's Battery B, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. They served as the anchor point for Grant's Last Line of defense. Grant's Chief of Staff, Col. Joseph Dana Webster, was tasked to form this successful last defensive postion near the end of fighting on April 6. From here, the Federals launched a counterattack on April 7.   

Madison's Battery consisted of five M1819 24-pounder Iron Siege Guns, and one 8-inch Siege Howitzer (64-pounder) used on the second day of fighting. In all, Grant and Webster assembled 50 cannon and nearly 20,000 infantry on this Last Line of defense before General Buell started offloading his army from transports on the evening of April 6. 
 

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