Long Day at Shiloh

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An extraordinary novel—the stirring recreation, in the sharpest human and historical detail, of the first twenty-four hours of one of the crucial battles of the American Civil War. Here, in the voices, in the actions, in the minds of the men who fought it, is the tumultuous first day of the Battle of Shiloh.Just before dawn on April 6, 1862, Union troops under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant, encamped at Pittsburgh Landing on the Tennessee River, are attacked by Confederate forces. Grant's army—its front unfortified, its back to a swollen river—is nearly overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught. The Union troops retreat in confusion as reinforcements fail to arrive and the Rebels advance steadily until nightfall. For many of the men, this day marks their first experience of combat. Hundred desert, Thousands die.In a series of short, cinematic takes, we are transported to Pittsburgh Landing and enter the lives of the men in the Union camp. We are alone with individual soldiers as they enjoy moments of solitude and suffer hours of quiet desperation. We are amidst groups of men as, together, throughout this day, they work and rest and fight.