“Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day.”

“Yes. Lick ‘em tomorrow, though.”

~Exchange between Generals William T. Sherman & Ulysses S. Grant on evening of 4/6/1862 (164 years ago tonight) after battle of Shiloh’s first day. The Union won the battle the next day.

Images: Library of Congress.

April 06, 2026 - 22:26 UTC

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I’d like to add the following to this.

1: Sherman thought Grant was going to fire him and wanted to save face with that line since he lost handily, though his ordered retreat saved a lot of Union lives.

2: Grant some time earlier got word that reinforcements were arriving for the following day.
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But how many men died on both sides as a result of that battle? And was the American public or the union public in support of the war?
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My sister's ex-husband had a great-great-great-etc uncle fight at Shiloh as a CSA cavalry officer. He was from the area, and a notorious horse thief before and after the war.
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He's buried in the cemetery there at Shiloh battleground, too.
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Damn straight
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I believe you misspelt "United States" up there ;)
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The 1st mass casualty battle of the War of the Great Rebellion. Shocked both sides. I have visited the battlefield park, really nice, out in the middle of nowhere. But for Gen. Johnston getting shot by a sniper early in the battle and out of control looting by the Confederates,they might have won
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But luckily thanks to Sherman quickly recovering and the bravery of the men in the Hornet’s Nest, they were able to hold on to the next day. The exchange between Sherman and Grant took place under a tree in the pouring rain. Many in the Union wanted Grant to be fired. But luckily he wasn’t.
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What a pair.
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The Chernow biography of Grant was soooo good. Fascinating.
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Grant's own autobiography is excellent too; he wrote it while dying of cancer in a last-ditch effort to leave his family some money, but you'd never suspect it from the prose style or level of detail. Not very self-impressed, either - sort of the anti-McClellan. Thanks to Mark Twain for publishing!
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Love those guys 💕
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I live near Fort Vancouver, which is where his failed potato scheme was located. His time here saw the poison of Blue Ruin spread across the territory but the local hysterical society refuses to talk about it, much less do an exhibit about it. #WhiskeyHistory
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