Editing Battle of Shiloh (section)

====Beauregard's situation====
When Beauregard called off all attacks, it was near sunset and he assumed Grant's army could be eliminated on the next day.<ref name="Cunningham323-324">{{harvnb|Cunningham|2009|pp=323–324}}</ref> He had received a telegram saying Buell's army was in [[Alabama in the American Civil War|Alabama]], and did not know Grant was already being reinforced.<ref name="Gudmens114"/>{{#tag:ref|One of Buell's divisions was in Alabama, but not his entire army.<ref name="Gudmens114"/> Late in the evening, a squad of Colonel [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]'s men discovered Union reinforcements arriving at Pittsburg Landing, and this was reported to Hardee. However, the rain and darkness prevented the men from finding Beauregard, and he was not notified.<ref name="Daniel263-264">{{harvnb|Daniel|1997|pp=263–264}}</ref>|group=Note}} The Confederate army was badly disorganized, and it had just finished taking prisoners from the Hornet's Nest around 5:30{{nbsp}}pm. Attacks after dark were rare because of problems with friendly fire, and darkness would occur soon.<ref name="Cunningham324-325">{{harvnb|Cunningham|2009|pp=324–325}}</ref> The exhausted Confederate army already had about 8,000 casualties.<ref name="Daniel263">{{harvnb|Daniel|1997|p=263}}</ref>

[[File:BattleOfShilohBeauregard.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Confederate situation appeared better than it was|alt=Beauregard's Situation at sunset: attack halted, battlefield success, and plans to finish tomorrow]]For many years after the battle, critics believed Beauregard had squandered an opportunity to finish Grant's army.<ref name="Cunningham324">{{harvnb|Cunningham|2009|p=324}}</ref> Modern historians, such as Cunningham and Daniel, disagree with that assessment. Cunningham wrote that Beauregard's critics ignore "the existing situation on the Shiloh battlefield"—including Confederate disorganization, time before sunset, and Grant's strong position augmented by gunboats.<ref name="Cunningham324-325"/> Daniel wrote that the thought that "the Confederates could have permanently breached or pulverized the Federal line in an additional hour or so of piecemeal night assaults simply lacks plausibility."<ref name="Daniel256"/> He mentions that it took the Confederates six hours to conquer the Hornet's Nest, and Grant's Last Line was a stronger position. He also cites exhaustion, low ammunition, and one staff officer's belief that one third of the Confederate army was plundering instead of fighting.<ref name="Daniel256"/>

Beauregard spent the evening near Shiloh Church in what had been Sherman's tent. Most of the Confederate army moved back to the original Union camps.<ref name="Daniel262">{{harvnb|Daniel|1997|p=262}}</ref> Beauregard sent a telegram to Richmond discussing "a complete victory, driving the enemy from every position."<ref name="McPherson412">{{harvnb|McPherson|1988|p=412}}</ref><ref name="Scott384">{{harvnb|Scott|1884|p=384}}</ref> Many of the Confederate troops believed that the battle was essentially over, and spent time plundering the camps. Some soldiers took their loot and began walking back to Corinth.<ref name="Daniel262-263">{{harvnb|Daniel|1997|pp=262–263}}</ref> Some of the Confederate troops were now armed with better weapons than the ones they had at the beginning of the day. Austrian, Enfield, and Springfield rifles were taken from dead, wounded, captured, or fleeing Union soldiers.<ref name="Cunningham337">{{harvnb|Cunningham|2009|p=337}}</ref>

It began raining at 10:00{{nbsp}}pm, and at midnight the rain became a storm with thunder and lightning.  This, combined with the constant shelling by Union gunboats throughout the night, made it difficult for the exhausted Confederates to get any sleep. Because of the exhaustion and the belief that Grant's army was almost finished, the Confederate forces were not reorganized. No plans or orders were made for the next day, and it was thought the various commands would regroup at that time for a "final mop-up action".<ref name="Daniel262-263"/> The original Confederate plan was to push Grant's army away from Pittsburg Landing, and pin it against the northern creeks where it could not move quickly or get resupplied.<ref name="Eicher224"/> Instead, Grant had been forced back to a defensible position at Pittsburg Landing where he could be reinforced and resupplied.<ref name="Shaara11">{{harvnb|Shaara|2006|p=11}}</ref>