The Hornets Nest was a place on the battlefield. The Union forces fell back when the Confederates rapidly advanced through the campsite early on the morning of 6 April. The re-grouped along a road that ran along the edge of some woods. The Confederate General Ruggle collected 66 cannon and began firing into this group of Union soldiers and the infantry advanced to attack it. The firing became so heavy that someone commented that bullets were flying thicker than a hornet's nest. The name stuck.