Corinth, Siege of | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Corinth, Siege of

Civil War Battle Summary

Corinth, Siege of | Wisconsin Historical Society
Enlarge"Combined Confederate attack upon [Batteries] Robinette and Davis the attack on Battery Robinette being defeated and that on Davis resulting in the defeat and flight of our Soldiers and the possession of the Battery (Davis) by the Confederates."

Sketch of the Battle of Corinth, 1862

This sketch shows the combined Confederate attack upon several union batteries during the Battle of Corinth. Although the Confederates won this skirmish, Union troops ultimately won the battle. View the original source document: WHI 32888

Enlargehis map of the area between Monterey, Tennessee, and Corinth, Mississippi, shows Union lines of entrenchment in blue and Confederate lines around Corinth in red.

The Battle of Corinth, 1862.

his map of the area between Monterey, Tennessee, and Corinth, Mississippi, shows Union lines of entrenchment in blue and Confederate lines around Corinth in red. View the original source document: WHI 90770

Date(s): April 29-May 30, 1862

Location: Corinth, Mississippi (Google Map)

Other name(s): none

Campaign: Federal Penetration up the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers (February-June 1862)

Outcome: Union victory

Summary

This Union victory stopped the movement of Confederate troops and supplies throughout much of the South.

Following their victory at Shiloh on April 7, 1862, Union armies totaling ca. 110,000 men marched to the vital railroad center of Corinth, Mississippi. The city was the junction of rail lines that stretched from Alabama and Florida in the south to Kentucky and Virginia in the north.

Approximately 66,000 Confederate troops were inside Corinth. They put up a determined resistance, and it took nearly a month for Union forces to cover the last 20 miles. On May 25th, Union forces advanced close enough to bombard the town with artillery. On the evening of May 29-30, Confederates evacuated.

Wisconsin's Role

Seven Wisconsin units took part in the Siege of Corinth: the 8th, 14th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Infantry regiments and the 5th and 10th Light Artillery batteries.

Links to Learn More

[Source: Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields (Washington, 1993); Estabrook, C. Records and Sketches of Military Organizations (Madison, 1914); Love, W. Wisconsin in the War of the Rebellion (Madison, 1866).]