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The 48th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (also called the 48th Ohio Infantry Regiment) fought as part of Buckland’s (4th) Brigade in Sherman’s (5th) Division, Army of the Tennessee, at the Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing), Tennessee, on April 6–7, 1862.  This was the regiment’s first major combat, occurring only about a month after it received rifles.  The regiment had been organized at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati in the fall of 1861, mustered in on February 17, 1862, under Col. Peter J. Sullivan, and moved via Paducah, Kentucky, to the Pittsburg Landing area in March. It camped near Shiloh Church as part of a largely green force.

 

When Confederate forces under Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston launched a surprise attack on April 6th, the 48th was among the units on Gen. William T. Sherman’s front near Shiloh Church. It formed on the color line, advanced to support the pickets (crossing a bridge and taking position in the woods), and helped hold the initial line against repeated Confederate assaults for roughly the first two hours of heavy fighting. The regiment and its brigade (alongside the 70th and 72nd Ohio) repeatedly drove the enemy back before being forced to fall back in good order toward the Purdy Road and later positions as the Union left was turned and pressure mounted.  The next day, the regiment advanced with Union forces, helped drive the Confederates from the field, and reoccupied its camps.

 

Sherman’s report praised the brigade’s performance and specifically noted Col. Sullivan’s and Col. Joseph R. Cockerill’s (70th Ohio) gallantry. Despite being inexperienced, the regiment held key ground under Sherman near Shiloh Church in the opening hours, fought stubbornly while withdrawing, supported the defense near the landing, and participated in the successful counteroffensive the next day.