Siege of Corinth

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict = Siege of Corinth


caption =
partof = the American Civil War
date = April 29, 1862ndash May 30, 1862
place = Corinth, Mississippi
result = Union victory
combatant1 = flagicon|USA|1861 United States (Union)
combatant2 = flagicon|CSA|1861 CSA (Confederacy)
commander1 = Henry W. Halleck
commander2 = P.G.T. Beauregard
strength1 = roughly 120,000
strength2 = nearly 65,000
casualties1 = 1,000Kennedy, p.56.]
casualties2 = 1,000

The Siege of Corinth (also known as the First Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to June 10, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi.

Background

Following the Union Army victory at the Battle of Shiloh, the Union armies under Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck advanced 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.

Battle

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 Confederates gone.

Aftermath

John Pope remarked in his memoirs that Halleck's cautious campaign failed to take full advantage of a glittering array of talented Union officers, including "Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Thomas, McPherson, Logan, Buell, Rosecrans and many others I might mention." [Cozzens & Girardi, p. 75.]

See also

* Corinth I Union order of battle
* Corinth I Confederate order of battle

References

* Cozzens, Peter, and Robert I. Girardi, eds., "The Military Memoirs of John Pope", University of North Carolina Press, 1998, ISBN 978-0807824443.
* Kennedy, Frances H., ed., "The Civil War Battlefield Guide", 2nd ed., Houghton Mifflin Co., 1998, ISBN 0-395-74012-6.
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Notes

External links

* [http://www.nps.gov/history/NR/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/113corinth/113corinth.htm "The Siege and Battle of Corinth: A New Kind of War," a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]