Siege of Corinth
The siege of Corinth (also known as the first battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War engagement lasting from April 29 to May 30, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. A collection of Union forces under the overall command of Major General Henry Halleck engaged in a month-long siege of the city, whose Confederate occupants were commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard. The siege resulted in the capture of the town by Federal forces.
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.
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 Ulysses S. Grant took control and made it the base for Grant's operations to seize control of the 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]
Battle[edit]
Monterey[edit]
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]
Retreat[edit]
With the Federal army preparing to lay siege to the town, a Confederate council of war decided to retreat. Confederate commander General P. G. T. Beauregard saved his army by a hoax. Some of the men were given three days' rations and ordered to prepare for an attack. As expected, one or two went over to the Union with that news. The preliminary bombardment began, and Union forces maneuvered for position. During the night of May 29, the Confederate army moved out. They used the Mobile and Ohio Railroad to carry the sick and wounded, the heavy artillery, and tons of supplies. When a train arrived, the troops cheered as though reinforcements were arriving. They set up dummy Quaker Guns along the defensive earthworks. Camp fires were kept burning, and buglers and drummers played. The rest of the men slipped away undetected, withdrawing to Tupelo, Mississippi. When Union patrols entered Corinth on the morning of May 30, they found the Confederate troops gone. The Union forces took control and made it the base for their operations to seize control of the Mississippi River Valley, and especially the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi.[34]
Preservation[edit]
The American Battlefield Trust and its partners have preserved more than 820 acres of the Corinth battlefield through mid-2023.[37]