Later, there would be false rumors of drinking and accusations of incompetence. When the Rebels attacked early that Sunday morning on April 6, 1862, they found the Union troops under Major General Ulysses S. Grant unprepared. Somehow Grant, who wasnât on the battlefield during the initial attack, miraculously avoided what appeared to be a certain defeat. Despite winning a hard fought victory, Grant was lucky he wasnât cashiered by his superiors after the bloody Battle of Shiloh, which one historian described as âthe first great and terrible battle of the Civil War.â Grantâs performance at Shiloh is a perfect illustration of the difficulties in assessing the man. He seemed to be unforgivably caught by surprise during the first day of the battle. Rumors circulated that drunkenness explained his absence from the battlefield that crucial morning. And yet, his calm leadership during the day and his determination later that night to carry on the next morning allowed the Union to prevail in the end.