USS Lexington (1861) - Battle of Shiloh

Battle of Shiloh

After repairs Lexington rejoined Tyler protecting army transports and supporting troop movements along the Tennessee River. On 1 March the gunboats engaged Confederate forces fortifying Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing) Tennessee. They landed a party of sailors and army sharpshooters to reconnoiter Confederate strength in the area. They then moved further upstream and engaged a Confederate battery at Chickasaw, Alabama, on the 12th. Later in the month they steamed upstream to Eastport, Mississippi, where they exchanged fire with Southern artillery.

The capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson opened serious breaches in the Confederancy's outer defense line which Grant was quick to exploit. Southern troops commanded by Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston, made a major effort to stem his advance in the Battle of Shiloh and came close to overwhelming the Union troops. Major General Leonidas Polk, CSA, reported that the Confederate forces "were within from 150 to 400 yards of the enemy's position, and nothing seemed wanting to complete the most brilliant victory of the war but to press forward and make a vigorous assault on the demoralized remnant of his forces. At this juncture his gunboats dropped down the river, near the landing where his troops were collected, and opened a tremendous cannonade of shot and shell over the bank, in the direction from where our forces were approaching." This timely support from Lexington and Tyler swung the delicate balance of forces back to the Union side and saved Grant's men from disaster.