Colonel William Preston Johnston, The Life of General Albert Sidney Johnston : His Service in the Armies of the United States, the Republic of Texas, and the Confederate States.

I had not advanced far before I came upon General Ruggles, who commanded General Bragg's left, deploying his troops. Having ascertained the direction of the line, I did not wait for him to complete it, but returned to the head of my column to give the necessary orders. By this time it was near four o'clock, and, on arriving, I was informed that General Beauregard desired to see me immediately. I rode forward to his headquarters at once, where I found General Bragg and himself in conversation. He said, with some feeling, “I am very much disappointed at the delay which has occurred in getting the troops into position.” I replied: “So am I, sir; but, so far as I am concerned, my orders are to form on another line, and that line must first be established before I can form upon it.” I continued: “I reached Mickey's at nightfall yesterday, whence I could not move, because of the troops which were before me, until 2 P. M. to-day. I then promptly followed the column in front of me, and have been in position to form upon it so soon as its line was established.” He said he regretted the delay exceedingly, as it would make it necessary to forego the attack altogether; that our success depended upon our surprising the enemy; that this was now impossible, and we must fall back to Corinth.

Here General Johnston came up and asked what was the matter. General Beauregard repeated what he had said to me. General Johnston remarked that this would never do, and proceeded to assign reasons for that opinion. He then asked what I thought of it. I replied that my troops were in as good condition as they had ever been; that they were eager for battle; that to retire now would operate injuriously upon them; and I thought we ought to attack. General Breckinridge, whose troops were in the rear, and by this time had arrived upon the ground, here joined us; and, after some discussion, it was decided to postpone further movement until the following day, and to make the attack at daybreak.

General Bragg, in a monograph on the battle of Shiloh, prepared for the use of the writer of this memoir, says:

During the afternoon of the 5th, as the last of our troops were taking position, a casual and partly-accidental meeting of general officers occurred just in rear of our second line, near the bivouac of General Bragg. The commander in-chief, General Beauregard, General Polk, General Bragg, and General Breckinridge, are remembered as present, and General Hardee may have been. In a discussion of the causes of the delay and its incidents, it was mentioned that some of the troops, now in their third day only, were entirely out of food, though having marched with five days rations. General Beauregard, confident our movement had been discovered by the enemy, urged its abandonment, a return to our camps for supplies, and a general change of programme. In this opinion no other seemed fully to concur; and when it was suggested that “the enemy's supplies were much nearer, and could be had for the taking,” General Johnston quietly remarked, “Gentlemen, we shall attack at daylight to-morrow.” The meeting then dispersed upon an invitation of the commanding general to meet at his tent that evening. At that meeting a further discussion elicited the same views, and the same firm, decided determination.