Duncan Field, Shiloh National Military Park

SHILOH BATTLEFIELD TOUR STOP #3

After being surprised by a Confederate attack around 9 AM on the morning of April 6, 1862, soldiers from Union General Benjamin Prentiss’s defeated division and many from General Sherman’s division near Shiloh Church were already retreating back towards Pittsburg Landing. These soldiers had been stationed on the Union’s most forward lines and were the first to engage the Confederates when fighting broke out. One way to Pittsburg Landing was through Joseph Duncan’s field.

At the same time, two divisions of fresh Union soldiers were forming a defensive line at Duncan’s Field in the woods along what was known as the Sunken Road, the dirt road you are now standing on. This defensive line extended from this location all the way to the other end of the Sunken Road at the Peach Orchard. The retreating soldiers who were still able to fight joined their comrades.

Battle Map for Hornet’s Nest fighting

The majority of the Confederate forces who were by now lined up on the opposite side of the Sunken Road attacked the Union line at the left and right flanks, while no more than 3,500 Confederates concentrated on the center. Union troops numbered 6,200, and they also had 25 cannon. The Confederates made eleven attacks over the next eight hours but gained no ground. They took heavy casualties with each charge. There were so many mini balls whizzing through the air that those present compared the sound to angry hornets, and thus the thicket that provided protection for the Union center became known as the Hornet’s Nest (Duncan Field marks the eastern side of the Hornet’s Nest).

By 4 PM, the right flank of the Union line (troops to the right across the tour road) had been forced to retreat a mile north back towards Pittsburg Landing, and the left flank at the Peach Orchard also began a withdrawal. This left only the Union troops in the center. Confederates who were fighting the Union right and left were now free to join the attack on the Union center. You will learn what brought about the demise of the Union troops who were stuck in the Hornet’s Nest at the next stop, Ruggles’ Battery.

The Duncan Field stop on the Shiloh National Military Park battlefield tour is one of the better ones because you can easily picture in your mind what went on during the battle. You are located between the two opposing forces and would have been taking fire from both sides had you been standing here on April 6th.

A five minute walk down the Sunken Road takes you to where approximately 2,100 Union troops who manned the center of the Hornet’s Nest eventually surrendered. The walk is over flat and easy ground and ends at the paved Eastern Corinth Road where Tour Stop 10 on the Shiloh Battlefield tour is located (you’ll be there again later in the tour). It is an interesting walk, so there is no harm in doing it now.

Sunken Road on the Shiloh Battlefield

Lining the Sunken Road are a number of Iowa Monuments. Iowa troops made up the majority of those trapped at the center of the Hornet’s Nest. More Iowa troops were killed or wounded at Shiloh than Iowa troops in any other single Civil War battle.

An Iowa Monument along the Sunken Road at Shiloh National Military Park

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