While the plan of attack was to arrive at Pittsburg Landing in the late morning of April 4, breakdowns in communication, obstructed roads, bad weather, and a temporarily missing division caused them to arrive in late afternoon on April 5, a few miles south of the Shiloh Church. This building was in the middle of the soon-to-be battlefield and gave the Battle of Shiloh its name. It was there that the leading Generals held an informal, casual council. During this meeting, General G. T. Beauregard is said to have expressed his opinion that the Rebels should not attack, for all elements of surprise would be gone due to loss of time and noised made by the troops. While Major-General Braxton Bragg agreed, Major-General Leonidas Polk was very displeased with the idea of calling off the attack. A decision was finally made as Johnston declared, "We shall attack at daylight tomorrow" (McDonough, 81). .
It was three o"clock in the morning on April 6 when Colonel Everett Peabody, after General B. M. Prentiss mocked the idea of preparing for a Confederate advance, sent three companies of the 25th Missouri Infantry on a reconnaissance mission. Approximately two hours later, this band of a little less than three hundred men saw some Confederate soldiers. These Rebels fired three rounds and retreated, leading the Recon group to believe that they had just run into a Rebel Scouting Party, so they continued on their mission. Before long, they approached Major Hardcastle's Third Mississippi Battalion. Having been given the orders to hold their position until the Confederates were ready to launch their offensive attack, Hardcastle's men and the recon group began firing upon each other from a distance of about 200 yards. This skirmish was the start of the Battle of Shiloh. By 6:30 am, the Confederates were moving swiftly towards the Union camps. Despite Beauregard's fears that the element of surprise had been ruined by many factors, Federal soldiers are said to have been making breakfast as the battle drums began to resound.
