Siege of Corinth

Coordinates: 34°56′02″N 88°31′19″W / 34.934°N 88.522°W / 34.934; -88.522
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the American Civil War battle in 1862. For the larger October 1862 battle, see Second Battle of Corinth. For other uses, see Battle of Corinth.

Siege of Corinth
Part of the American Civil War

Ohio troops at the battlefield of Corinth, taken December 1862, after the second battle fought at Corinth.
DateApril 29, 1862 (1862-04-29) – May 30, 1862 (1862-05-30)[1]
Location
Corinth, Mississippi
34°56′02″N 88°31′19″W / 34.934°N 88.522°W / 34.934; -88.522
Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States United States (Union) Confederate States of America CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders

Henry Halleck

P. G. T. Beauregard

Units involved
  • Army of the Tennessee
  • Army of the Ohio
  • Army of the Mississippi
    		•
  • Army of Mississippi
  • Army of the West
    • Strength
    120,000 65,000
    Casualties and losses
    1,000+[2] 1,000+[2]

    The siege of Corinth (also known as the first battle of Corinth) was an

    P.G.T. Beauregard
    . The siege resulted in the capture of the town by Federal forces.

    The town was a strategic point at the junction of two vital railroad lines, the Mobile and Ohio Railroad and the Memphis and Charleston Railroad. Former Confederate Secretary of War LeRoy Pope Walker called this intersection "the vertebrae of the Confederacy."[3] General Halleck argued: "Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategic points of the war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards."[3] Another reason for the town's importance was that, if captured by Union forces, it would threaten the security of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and render Southern control of the track west of that East Tennessee bastion meaningless.

    The siege ended when the outnumbered Confederates withdrew on May 29. This effectively cut off the prospect of further Confederate attempts to regain western Tennessee. The Union forces under

    Mississippi River Valley and especially the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant later recalled in his memoirs the importance Corinth held in the cause of a Union victory in the region: "Corinth was a valuable strategic point for the enemy to hold, and consequently a valuable one for us to possess ourselves of."[4] General C. S. Hamilton later recounted that the importance of Corinth was summed up as such: "The Confederate armies had been driven from the Ohio River, almost out of the States of Tennessee and Kentucky a steadying back for a distance of 200 miles Federal occupation reaching the Gulf States where chivalrous foes had been sure Yankee would never set foot."[5] Sherman too later wrote of the importance that Corinth held after the Second Battle of Corinth was concluded: "In Memphis I could see its effects upon the citizens, and they openly admitted that their cause had sustained a death-blow."[6]

    With the siege of Corinth completed, Federal troops had the opportunity to strike towards Vicksburg or Chattanooga, but it was after the Second Battle of Corinth that October that Grant struck for Vicksburg. The Siege of Corinth was described by General Sherman as a change in the tactics in West Tennessee: "The effect of the battle of Corinth was very great. It was, indeed, a decisive blow to the Confederate cause in our quarter, and changed the whole aspect of affairs in West Tennessee. From the timid defensive we were at once enabled to assume the bold offensive."[6]

    Background

    Military situation

    Main articles: Battle of Fort Henry, Battle of Fort Donelson, and Battle of Shiloh
    Further information:
    Western Theater of the American Civil War and American Civil War
    Halleck's army marches towards Corinth

    Following the Union Army victory at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6–7, Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck amassed three Union armies —the Army of the Tennessee, the Army of the Ohio, and the Army of the Mississippi— for an advance on the vital rail center of Corinth, Mississippi. Made cautious by the staggering losses at Shiloh, Halleck embarked on a tedious campaign of offensive entrenchment, fortifying after each advance. By May 25, 1862, after moving five miles in three weeks, Halleck was in position to lay siege to the town. Confederate morale was low and Beauregard was outnumbered two to one. The water was bad. Typhoid and dysentery had felled thousands of his men. At a council of war, the Confederate officers concluded that they could not hold the railroad crossover. Sickness had claimed the lives of as many men as the Confederacy had lost at Shiloh.[7][8]

    Opposing forces

    Union

    Further information:
    Siege of Corinth Union order of battle
    Key Union Commanders

    The Department of the Mississippi, commanded by Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck, was divided into three wings. Each wing corresponded to one of the three armies under his command. It totaled 120,172 men “present for duty."

    • The
      John Pope, totaled 21,510 men “present for duty”.[9]
    • The Army of the Ohio, designated the “Center Wing,” commanded by Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell, totaled 48,108 men “present for duty.”[10]
    • The
      George H. Thomas, totaled 50,554 men “present for duty.”[11]

    Confederate

    Further information:
    Siege of Corinth Confederate order of battle
    Key Confederate Commanders

    The Army of Mississippi, commanded by General P. G. T. Beauregard, who also held overall command of all Confederate forces at Corinth, consisted of 45,440 men on April 30. It was divided into four corps:[12]

    The Army of the West, commanded by Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn, consisted of 12,901 men[15] under the divisions of Maj. Gen. Samuel Jones, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price, and Maj. Gen. John P. McCown.[16]

    Battle

    Monterey

    The federal division under Stanley moved south down the road to Corinth to search for the enemy on April 29, 1862. Brigadier General Elliot with 16 companies of cavalry including the 2nd Iowa Cavalry Regiment and part of the 2nd Michigan Cavalry Regiment, made contact with Confederate pickets of Forrest's 3rd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment who retreated rapidly leaving some infantry of Patton Anderson's brigade in camp unprepared. The 2nd Iowa captured 11 men in its dash. Then 2nd Iowa entered Monterey and captured more of the enemy. The 2nd Iowa continued until it came to a bridge opposed by Washington's Louisiana Battery and Colonel Kelly's men of 3rd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. The 2nd Iowa charged into canister fire and lost one killed and three wounded. The 2nd Iowa retired some distance away. Kelly reported one or two of his men killed and no mention of captured.[17]

    Farmington

    Pope's encampment at Corinth

    Of Halleck's wing commanders

    Pierre G. T. Beauregard ordered Earl Van Dorn to attack Pope's advanced wing on May 9.[21][22] Pope made a successful withdrawal and rejoined with Buell. General Braxton Bragg of the Confederate States Army (CSA), who also participated in the attack, had 25,000 men. The Union Army had 12,000 troops on hand. Van Dorn's corps, barely engaged, had 9 casualties. Daniel Ruggles's division of Bragg's Corp, on the other hand, which bore the brunt of the fighting, suffered casualties of 8 dead, 89 wounded and two missing or captured.[23] The Union Army had 16 killed, 148 wounded and 14 missing or captured.[24]

    Charge of the Federals

    The

    8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment was ordered to draw the enemy out as to count their numbers and they withdrew to a swamp north of town. Wisconsin 8th reported 5 killed, 14 severely wounded, and 19 slightly wounded. Old Abe
    the Screaming Eagle accompanied the Wisconsin 8th Infantry.

    The 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment arrived in Corinth on May 24 and reported to Gen. John Pope, in the field before Corinth, Miss., and were assigned to the Second Brigade, First Division, Army of the Mississippi. The regiment had hardly time to establish its camp and realize its surroundings before it was brought into action. On the 28th of May, four days after it had reached the front, it participated in the tail end of the battle of Farmington, contributing a number of killed and wounded. [25]

    Russell's House

    As the wings of Halleck's army group began to align themselves in front of Corinth, Maj. Gen.

    Morgan L. Smith and Brig. Gen. James W. Denver to lead the attack with Maj. Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut's division lending support.[26] On May 17 the attack commenced with Denver on the right, Smith in the center and Hurlbut's reserve to the right. Chalmers offered a stubborn resistance while some of his men fired from within the Russell house. The Confederates almost succeeded with a flank attack against Smith's right but were repulsed by Colonel Thomas Kilby Smith and the 54th Ohio Infantry. As soon as a battery from the 1st Illinois Artillery deployed the advantage was in favor of the Union forces. Chalmers retreated beyond Philips Creek near the Russell house property and Morgan Smith's brigade occupied high ground on which the house stood.[27] Sherman's losses were 10 killed and 31 wounded all of which were from Smith's brigade. Confederate losses were unknown but Sherman reported 12 dead left on the field.[28] That same day a division under Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Sherman drove off a Confederate force covering a crossing along Bridge Creek.[26]

    Widow Surratt Farm

    On May 21 Maj. Gen.

    Alvan C. Gillem of Buell's staff) and the 31st Indiana infantry in reserve stabilized the line.[30] The Confederates made three more attempts to turn the Union flank until retiring to a creek beyond the Surratt farm. General Nelson ordered Sedgwick to hold his position until nightfall, then return to the Union camp.[30]
    A week later General Buell mounted an attack to gain the high ground surrounding the Surratt farm.

    Double Log House

    On May 27 Halleck ordered Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman to drive the Confederates from a log house along the Corinth Road and make a strong demonstration against Corinth itself if possible. At the edge of a cotton field along Sherman's front was a double

    chinking between the logs. Sherman formed an attacking column with Morgan L. Smith's brigade on the left and James W. Denver's brigade on the right. John A. Logan's brigade (from John A. McClernand's reserve corps) and James C. Veatch's brigade (from Stephen A. Hurlbut's division) were also brought up for support. Colonel Ezra Taylor fired several artillery rounds to signal the infantry attack. Denver and Smith quickly overtook the log house by storm and secured the hilltop position. The Confederates rallied and drove in Sherman's skirmishers but the counterattack was repulsed by the main line of infantry with artillery support. The following day the rest of Sherman's division and artillery moved forward to the new position which offered a good vantage point into Corinth itself. Generals Ulysses S. Grant and George H. Thomas were both present on the field during this engagement, giving approval for the behavior of operation.[6]

    Surratt's Hill

    Confederate infantry had been using a hill in the vicinity of the Widow Surratt farm for picket outposts. With all his wings in line, Halleck ordered Buell to clear the Confederates off the Surratt farm hill. Buell chose Maj. Gen.

    Robert L. McCook's brigade (from Thomas W. Sherman's division) in support of Rousseau. Johnson's brigade encountered some heavy skirmishing but the hill was taken in short time. McCook's division entrenched and brought heavy artillery to the new position and immediately began to shell the Confederates. Beauregard's artillery responded with minimal effort. The engagement at the Surratt farm hill allowed Halleck to bring forward siege guns for the bombardment of Corinth.[31]

    Bridge Creek

    On May 28 Maj. Gen. Nelson ordered Colonel Sedgwick to seize a Confederate-held crossing of Bridge Creek, a small tributary of the Tuscumbia River. Sedgwick moved his brigade out from the main Union trenches with the 2nd and 20th Kentucky infantry regiments in the lead. Sedgwick drove in the Confederate pickets then encountered a larger force guarding the bridge.[33] The Kentucky infantry managed to gain hold of the eastern end of the bridge while Sedgwick ordered forward the 31st Indiana infantry and Captain John Mendenhall's artillery battery. These reinforcements and artillery forced the Confederates to abandon the bridge completely.[33]

    Retreat

    With the Federal army preparing to lay siege to the town, a Confederate council of war decided to retreat.

    Mississippi River Valley, and especially the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi.[34]

    Aftermath

    Map of the siege of Corinth battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program

    Rosecrans and many others I might mention."[35]

    A Confederate army led by Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn attempted to retake the city in October 1862, but was defeated in the Second Battle of Corinth by a Union army under the command of Rosecrans. At times during the second battle, Confederate forces seemed to have the upper hand but failed to follow up on their successes, leading to a devastating defeat for Confederate forces in that region. Rosecrans had the opportunity to crush rebel forces during the battle but failed to follow up his victory, allowing Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn to escape from destruction. Corinth ultimately led to the operations that opened the Mississippi River valley, which was considered by General Chief Henry W. Halleck as, "the opening of the Mississippi River will be to us of more advantage than the capture of forty Richmonds".[36]

    Preservation

    The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have preserved more than 820 acres of the Corinth battlefield through mid-2023.[37]

    See also

    Notes

    1. ^ Kennedy, p. 52.
    2. ^ a b Kennedy, p. 56.
    3. ^
      ISBN 978-0-8078-5783-0
      .
    4. ^ Ulysses, Grant (1885–86). Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. New York.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    5. ^ Hamilton, Charles Smith (1882). "Correspondence in regard to the battle of Corinth, Miss., October 3d and 4th, 1862". [Chicago?.
    6. ^ a b c Memoirs of William T. Sherman
    7. ^ "The First Battle of Corinth: May 30, 1862
    8. ^ "Determining the facts: The Siege of Corinth", National Park Service
    9. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, page 146
    10. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, page 148
    11. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, page 151
    12. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, page 475
    13. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, page 461
    14. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, pages 452-453
    15. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, page 523
    16. ^ Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, series 1, volume 10, chapter 22, part 2, pages 462-463
    17. ^ War of the rebellion: Official record of the Civil War vol.17 chapter 29 page 798 and Page 800.
    18. ^ History.net:Siege of Corinth by Henry Halleck in 1862
    19. ^ The Union Army: Cyclopedia of battles. Federal Publishing Company. 1908. p. 392. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
    20. ^ Farmington, May 3
    21. ^ "Farmington MS". Archived from the original on October 31, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2013.
    22. ISBN 978-1-60530-979-8
      . Retrieved August 11, 2012.
    23. ^ Return of casualties in Ruggles' division in the engagement at Farmington, Miss., May 9, 1862 found in Official Records, Vol. 10, Part I, pg. 811 and featured on the website of Cornell University, found at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.49015002426576&view=1up&seq=829
    24. ^ Return of casualties in the United States troops in the engagement at Farmington, Miss., May 9, 1862 found in Official Records, Vol. 10, Part I, pg. 805 and featured on the website of Cornell University, found at https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.49015002426576&view=1up&seq=823
    25. ^ Minnesota in the Civil and Indian Wars 1861-1865 (1891), pg. 260, found at https://archive.org/details/minnesotacivil01minnrich/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater
    26. ^ a b Smith p. 164
    27. ^ Smith p. 165
    28. ^ Sherman's report
    29. ^ Clark p.113
    30. ^ a b Sedgwick's official report
    31. ^ a b Fanebust page 106
    32. ^ Fanebust page 107
    33. ^ a b Bridge Creek 28 May 1862
    34. ^ Smith, 2012
    35. ^ Cozzens & Girardi, p. 75.
    36. ISBN 978-1-4000-6703-9
      .
    37. ^ "Corinth Battlefield". American Battlefield Trust. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

    References

    Memoirs and primary sources

    External links

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