VOA慢速英語: 格蘭特率領(lǐng)聯(lián)邦軍在夏伊洛戰(zhàn)役中取勝，但付出了代價

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From VOA Learning English, this is The Making of a Nation. I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

And I’m Christopher Cruise.

Confederate forces won the first major land battle of America’s civil war in July 1861. The Confederatesdefeated Union forces at Manassas, or Bull Run, inVirginia, less than 50 kilometers from Washington, DC.Union leaders quickly built a large army to defend thecapital.

At the same time, Confederate and Union troops battled in the western United States. One of the Union generalsin the west was Ulysses Grant.

Ulysses Grant had fought in America's war againstMexico and had won honors for his bravery. When thatwar ended, he was sent to an army base far from hiswife and children. He did not like being without them.Some say he became depressed and drank too muchalcohol. In 1854, he left the army.

When the Civil War started, the Union needed experienced officers. AfterGrant successfully organized a group of unpaid soldiers in Illinois, a memberof Congress helped him receive an appointment as a Union general.

Grant believed he could force Confederate soldiers to withdraw from Kentuckyand Tennessee. Then he could march directly into the Deep South --Mississippi.

Two Confederate forts stood in Grant's way. The first, Fort Henry, fell easily. At the second, Fort Donelson, fighting lasted several days.

Finally, the Confederate commanding officer asked General Grant the termsof surrender. Grant's answer was simple. "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted."

The Confederates gave up Fort Donelson. It was the greatest Union victorysince the start of the war. Ulysses Grant was a hero. Newspapers called him"Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

Confederate forces moved south and re-grouped at Corinth, Mississippi.Grant followed with 40,000 men. He stopped about 30 kilometers fromCorinth, near a small church called Shiloh Meeting House. There, he waitedfor an additional force of Union soldiers under the command of Don Buell.

Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston was waiting, too. He had morethan 40,000 men, about the same as Grant. And he was expecting another20,000. But when he learned Grant was nearby, he decided not to wait. OnApril 6, 1862, Confederate forces attacked and surprised the Union army.

The fighting at Shiloh was some of the bitterest of the war. It was not onebattle, but many. Groups of men fought each other across the wide battlefield. From a distance, they shot at each other. Close up, they cut each other withknives. The earth became red with blood. The dead and wounded soon layeverywhere.

At first, the Confederates pushed Grant's Union army back. But in the thick of the struggle, General Johnston was shot in the leg. The bullet cut through an artery. Johnston bled to death before help arrived.

By the time the fighting began again the next day, General Buell’s force arrivedto help Grant. The Confederate army pulled back. The Union army let it go.

Shiloh. The word itself came to mean death and destruction. Over 100,000men fought. More than 23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing.

One soldier who fought there said: "It was too shocking, too horrible. I hope toGod that I may never see such things again."

At first the North celebrated the news of its victory. But the public quicklybecame angry when they learned of the heavy losses. People blamed GeneralGrant. They demanded President Abraham Lincoln dismiss him.

But the president said Grant was too important. “I can’t spare this man,”Lincoln said. “He fights."

I’m Christopher Cruise.

And I’m Kelly Jean Kelly.

This is The Making of a Nation with VOA Learning English.

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Words in This Story

unconditional - adj. not limited

re-grouped - v. stopped for a short time and prepared for something difficult

artery - n. a tube that carries blood from the heart to all parts of the body

shocking - adj. causing a sudden feeling of horror or disgust

spare - v. give up

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