"Lew Wallace at Shiloh" Topic

The story of Wallace's errant march to reach the field at Shiloh is well known, but I can't find a few particulars:

1. Where was Wallace when he received Grant's order to join the main army? At Crump's Landing, or at Stony Lonesome (which is where he had ordered his brigades to assemble)?

2. Did Captain Baxter hand Rawlins' written version of the order to Wallace personally, or did he send it by some other hand?

General Wallace was at Stony Lonesome when he received the written version directly from Captain Baxter's hand.

Works consulted:

O.R. Series I – Vol. X – Part 1. – Reports. Pages 169 -190

Lew Wallace: An Autobiography, Vol. 1. Page 463

Wallace's report does not specifically say where he was when he received the order. It can be inferred that he was at Stony Lonesome from the fact that his division had concentrated there and that he said he set out immediately, but it doesn't specifically say where he was. Baxter, however, was sent to Crump's, that being the last place Grant had seen Wallace.

I do not have access to Wallace's autobiography; does it specify his location?

According to Captain Rowley of Grant's staff, who was sent to hasten Wallace, a cavalry captain reported to Grant at about noon that Wallace refused to move without a written order. I'm guessing (but would like to be sure) that Baxter went to Crump's, and not finding Wallace there, sent the cavalry officer to Stony Lonesome with the order, as Baxter (according to Lt. Col. McPherson) had returned to Grant about 10:30 saying he had delivered the message, and this is an hour before Wallace said he received it. Then the cavalry officer reached Grant 90 minutes later. (Or course, all times are approximate, as there was no such thing as Standard Time in those days.) Crump's is also where Rowley was sent to find Wallace, or so he later said.

Rowley's report in in OR Series I, Vol. 10, Part I, with the pertinent part on p. 171.

Yes, Wallace specifically mentions being at Stony Lonesome and receiving the written orders directly from Baxter. The autobiography can be found on Google books. LIII is the section of interest.

link

I would be interested in hearing your thoughts after you read the autobiography and compare that account with his official report and the reports of Rawlins, Rowley, and McPherson.

Thanks for the link! I'll comment after reading more and digesting it.

Two things I noticed right off: 1. Wallace claims that he did mention to Grant that his division was assembling at Stoney Lonesome (Grant may have failed to pick up on that).

2. Wallace thought his conversation with Grant, from boat to boat, was at about 8:30, which shows that his watch was about an hour ahead of most others. Grant thought it was about 8 when he reached Pittsburg Landing, a few miles farther upstream. And Rawlins later said that Grant spoke to Wallace at about 7-7:30.

Thought of something else: With regard to Wallace being told to join the army's right, if the army around Pittsburg Landing was thought of as facing west, towards Purdy and Bethel Station, W. H. L. Wallace's (2nd) division would have been on its right, and Sherman in the center.

Look to Grant's memoirs next. Pages 336-338 and 351-352. It's available on archive.org if it's not already on your shelf.

I have Grant's memoirs, original edition. That's how I know what time he thought he spoke to Wallace. Anything in particular you're thinking of?

I thought Grant's note on pages 351-352 is quite interesting. It seems the he never had a good understanding of Lew Wallace's decision making on that April morning until 1885. Grant basically says "Wallace still made a mistake, but I understand how and why he made it."

Of course, Grant didn't live to see Wallace's autobiography.

I note that Wallace put some of the blame on Captain Baxter, who brought him the original order to move, because Baxter told him that the Confederates had been repulsed, so he thought at first that he was meant to be part of a pursuit, not that he was desperately needed to fend off the attack.

That site does not seem have volume 2 of Wallace's autobiography. If it does, I can't find it. Can anyone?

Not to derail the conversation, but I consider Lew Wallace to be one of the Union heroes of Shiloh (the other is Peabody).
Wallace's continued outflanking of the Confederate line on the 2nd day of battle completely undid the Confederate defense. Wallace did exactly what a commander is supposed to do: obtain his objective with the least amount of casualties. Unfortunately he didn't have the political and PR machine that Grant did, so Wallace still wasn't able to leverage that into future success and higher command in a major theater.

Volume 2 of the Wallace autobiography.

link

Great! Thanks!