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Modern War Studies
Corinth 1862: Siege, Battle, Occupation
Fletcher Pratt Award McLemore PrizeIn the spring of 1862, there was no more important place in the western Confederacy—perhaps in all the South—than the tiny town of Corinth, Mississippi.Major General Henry W. Halleck, commander of Union forces in the Western Theater, reported to Washington that "Richmond and Corinth are now the great strategical points of war, and our success at these points should be insured at all hazards." In the same vein, Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard declared to Richmond that "If defeated at Corinth, we lose the Mississippi Valley and probably our cause." Those were odd sentiments concerning a town scarcely a decade old. By this time, however, it sat at the junction of the South's two most important rail lines and had become a major strategic locale. Despite its significance, Corinth has received comparatively little attention from Civil War historians and has been largely overshadowed by events at Shiloh, Antietam, and Perryville. Timothy Smith's panoramic and vividly detailed new look at Corinth corrects that neglect, focusing on the nearly year-long campaign that opened the way to Vicksburg and presaged the Confederacy's defeat in the West.Combining big-picture strategic and operational analysis with ground-level views, Smith covers the spring siege, the vicious attacks and counterattacks of the October battle, and the subsequent occupation. He has drawn extensively on hundreds of eyewitness accounts to capture the sights, sounds, and smells of battle and highlight the command decisions of Halleck, Beauregard, Ulysses S. Grant, Sterling Price, William S. Rosecrans, and Earl Van Dorn.This is also the first in-depth examination of Corinth following the creation of a new National Park Service center located at the site. Weaving together an immensely compelling tale that places the reader in the midst of war's maelstrom, it substantially revises and enlarges our understanding of Corinth and its crucial importance in the Civil War.
462 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2012
15 people are currently reading
92 people want to read
About the author
Timothy B. Smith
37 books21 followersA former NPS ranger at Shiloh, Timothy B. Smith teaches history at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 29, 2019
Few Civil War books concentrate on a place but the town of Corinth is worthy of the treatment. The first 100 pages are devoted to Halleck's siege, representing the first serious study of one of the Union's largest offensives, strategically important but forgotten due to there being no major battle. I actually wanted more here, particularly a discussion of Beauregard's use of cavalry raids, which is mentioned only briefly but I think was crucial to his inability to hold the town. Still, Smith does pretty well with a tedious topic and has a good eye for anecdotes.
Much of the rest is about the battle of Corinth. It is the most thorough account yet, however Cozzens might still be the better place to go since he has better maps and prose. He is also better at placing the battle in context of the campaign. That said, Smith's account is no slouch and he makes his share of cogent arguments.
The last few chapters discuss the occupation of the region, the escaped slave camp, and Union raids in the area. This part is by its nature dull, although the discussion of contraband is good. Less so is Smith downplaying Union deprivations in the region, which from my research were common under Grenville Dodge.
All in all, not Smith's best work in total, but a good piece of scholarship, particularly his account of the siege.
Much of the rest is about the battle of Corinth. It is the most thorough account yet, however Cozzens might still be the better place to go since he has better maps and prose. He is also better at placing the battle in context of the campaign. That said, Smith's account is no slouch and he makes his share of cogent arguments.
The last few chapters discuss the occupation of the region, the escaped slave camp, and Union raids in the area. This part is by its nature dull, although the discussion of contraband is good. Less so is Smith downplaying Union deprivations in the region, which from my research were common under Grenville Dodge.
All in all, not Smith's best work in total, but a good piece of scholarship, particularly his account of the siege.
August 26, 2023
Have you ever found yourself torn between two books on the same subject, having to pick one and worried you might not have made the right choice? Peter Cozzens’ The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth, about the important but little-studied (Second) Battle of Corinth during the Civil War has very good reviews here. But I really liked Timothy Smith’s Grant Invades Tennessee: The 1862 Battles for Forts Henry and Donelson, and his take on Corinth promised to focus on the siege of the city (the “first” battle of Corinth) in addition to the main battle that followed some months later. So I chose Smith. But I now can’t help feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse, looking at the reviews of Cozzens and wishing I had read his book instead.
Smith sets the scene well, describing the importance of the northern Mississippi city as a key transportation hub where two railroads converged, making it a valuable place for the Confederates to hold and the Union to gain. The earlier, more well-known, Confederate attack at nearby Shiloh was actually aimed in large part at protecting Corinth.
As the book’s subtitle “Siege, Battle, Occupation” suggests, the full story of Corinth in 1862 is really a three-parter, and Smith sets his book apart from others by promising to cover them all. The siege of the city in the spring, which forced the Confederates from the city, is "overshadowed by Shiloh," which took place just before, Smith writes, so it “has received little attention from Civil War historians.” The battle in the fall, where Confederates tried retaking the city, "has likewise been overshadowed,” Smith writes, as it took place “at the same time as the Antietam and Perryville campaigns." Smith aims to tell the full story, from the siege to the battle to the Union occupation of the city that followed.
And he succeeds in doing so, but the information he imparts often comes at the expense of providing a compelling narrative. It’s difficult to make the siege dramatic, since it mainly consisted of plodding Union forces - a little spooked and overly-cautious after Shiloh - ever-so-slowly advancing on Corinth until the Confederates evacuated the city without the two sides ever facing off in a full-scale battle. But both sides’ movements are related in great detail, taking up a full third of the book.
One would expect the narrative to pick up once the Confederate effort to retake the city began. But the battle scenes felt a bit lifeless to me. Plenty of Union and Confederate officers are referenced, but we never really get to know any of them. Plenty of soldiers’ letters and diaries are quoted, but we never fully get a feel for what the battle was like for them. And if sentences like this float your boat, you’re in luck, because there are a whole lot more like them:
The battle, and the book, become more interesting and somewhat less rote when we move on to the second (and final) day of fighting, as Smith describes the Confederate defeat. He considers the historiography when passing judgment on the generals, their decisions and strategy, by acknowledging and quoting critics and supporters before making his own determinations. And he places the battle in important broader context, as one of three nearly-simultaneous Confederate efforts to bring the war into Union territory, all of which failed - Lee in Antietam, Bragg in Kentucky and the attempted capture of Corinth, which was meant to help clear the way for a push into Middle Tennessee.
The last two post-battle chapters of the book recount the Union occupation of Corinth, focusing on daily life in the city, and the troops’ interactions with civilians and with contraband slaves. On the one hand, this is important and informative, because it’s all part of the story of Corinth - visitors to the city today can visit the contraband camp where slaves sought their freedom in the weeks and months after Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. So to ignore all of this and end the book with the end of the battle would have done the larger story a disservice. On the other hand, however, these chapters feel a bit more like appendices, in that they seem tacked onto the main narrative more than they are a seamless continuation of it.
The book’s epilogue swiftly brings us to the present day, describing modern efforts to memorialize the battlefield. Corinth is certainly not a household name among those who aren’t steeped in Civil War history, but Smith makes a good case as to why it ought to be better studied and remembered. It was just too bad to me that he didn’t display the storytelling talents he showed in the other book of his I’ve read so far, to really do justice to a story that deserves to be told. In the meantime, if I have a hankering someday to read about Corinth again, I know that Cozzens’ version of the story will be out there waiting for me.
Smith sets the scene well, describing the importance of the northern Mississippi city as a key transportation hub where two railroads converged, making it a valuable place for the Confederates to hold and the Union to gain. The earlier, more well-known, Confederate attack at nearby Shiloh was actually aimed in large part at protecting Corinth.
As the book’s subtitle “Siege, Battle, Occupation” suggests, the full story of Corinth in 1862 is really a three-parter, and Smith sets his book apart from others by promising to cover them all. The siege of the city in the spring, which forced the Confederates from the city, is "overshadowed by Shiloh," which took place just before, Smith writes, so it “has received little attention from Civil War historians.” The battle in the fall, where Confederates tried retaking the city, "has likewise been overshadowed,” Smith writes, as it took place “at the same time as the Antietam and Perryville campaigns." Smith aims to tell the full story, from the siege to the battle to the Union occupation of the city that followed.
And he succeeds in doing so, but the information he imparts often comes at the expense of providing a compelling narrative. It’s difficult to make the siege dramatic, since it mainly consisted of plodding Union forces - a little spooked and overly-cautious after Shiloh - ever-so-slowly advancing on Corinth until the Confederates evacuated the city without the two sides ever facing off in a full-scale battle. But both sides’ movements are related in great detail, taking up a full third of the book.
One would expect the narrative to pick up once the Confederate effort to retake the city began. But the battle scenes felt a bit lifeless to me. Plenty of Union and Confederate officers are referenced, but we never really get to know any of them. Plenty of soldiers’ letters and diaries are quoted, but we never fully get a feel for what the battle was like for them. And if sentences like this float your boat, you’re in luck, because there are a whole lot more like them:
"The two front regiments, the 15th and 16th lowa, remained in line as a rear guard on the east side of Battery F, along with two companies of skirmishers from the 13th Iowa; the 11th Iowa and the remainder of the 13th Iowa withdrew and formed a line to the rear, covering the road on which the other units moved."
The battle, and the book, become more interesting and somewhat less rote when we move on to the second (and final) day of fighting, as Smith describes the Confederate defeat. He considers the historiography when passing judgment on the generals, their decisions and strategy, by acknowledging and quoting critics and supporters before making his own determinations. And he places the battle in important broader context, as one of three nearly-simultaneous Confederate efforts to bring the war into Union territory, all of which failed - Lee in Antietam, Bragg in Kentucky and the attempted capture of Corinth, which was meant to help clear the way for a push into Middle Tennessee.
The last two post-battle chapters of the book recount the Union occupation of Corinth, focusing on daily life in the city, and the troops’ interactions with civilians and with contraband slaves. On the one hand, this is important and informative, because it’s all part of the story of Corinth - visitors to the city today can visit the contraband camp where slaves sought their freedom in the weeks and months after Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. So to ignore all of this and end the book with the end of the battle would have done the larger story a disservice. On the other hand, however, these chapters feel a bit more like appendices, in that they seem tacked onto the main narrative more than they are a seamless continuation of it.
The book’s epilogue swiftly brings us to the present day, describing modern efforts to memorialize the battlefield. Corinth is certainly not a household name among those who aren’t steeped in Civil War history, but Smith makes a good case as to why it ought to be better studied and remembered. It was just too bad to me that he didn’t display the storytelling talents he showed in the other book of his I’ve read so far, to really do justice to a story that deserves to be told. In the meantime, if I have a hankering someday to read about Corinth again, I know that Cozzens’ version of the story will be out there waiting for me.
September 17, 2022
A solid book on the 1862 Corinth Campaign. Tim Smith is probably my favorite current author, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me like some of his other works. For the casual ACW reader, this will likely provide enough depth and analysis… but it left me wanting more of that, partly perhaps, because I hold Cozzen’s “Darkest Days of the War” in such high regard. For example: The personalities involved weren’t particularly fleshed out or detailed, events like the engagements at Iuka and Davis Bridge are quickly glossed over, and Van Dorn’s after battle court of inquiry into his conduct is largely ignored. I personally crave a bit more detail in some of these aspects and a retrospective analysis of the actions taken. For that reason, DDotW will continue to be my two thumbs up recommendation for this campaign, but Corinth 1862 serves as a potentially easier and quicker read.
September 20, 2019
A timeline of US Grant's progress through the Western theater is readily constructed by connecting the dots from Cairo to Fort Henry to Fort Donelson to Shiloh to Vicksburg. But how many of us now think to locate a dot between the last of these two epic struggles in Corinth, Mississippi?
When Corinth is remembered at all, it's usually afforded one or two sentences that record ― and usually mock ― Henry Halleck's slow, creeping advance on the city from the Shiloh battlefield. The resulting siege of the city (29 April-30 May 1862) was hardly a siege at all, but is better remembered that way than as Halleck's very slow forward assault, which is what it actually was.
Then there's the battle of Corinth (3-4 October 1862) in which the rebels tried and failed to recapture their fallen town. This was a brutal and ugly affair with big casualty lists on both sides that nevertheless is almost forgotten today. Why? A glance through the order of battle provides the essential clue. Except for the three commanders ― Earl Van Dorn, Sterling Price, William S Rosecrans ― how many of the named participants do you recognize? Not many, or fewer: strictly jayvee. And none of the three commanders mentioned has a stellar record; at a minimum, biographical accounts of all three are riddled with constellations of asterisks.
I was more interested in the so-called siege of Corinth than in the subsequent battle, and indeed this book filled in a lot of gaps for me about the advance of the federal troops south from Shiloh. Yet fairly often I felt that, in terms of actual routes taken and locations of fortifications, precision was lacking. This kind of cartographic imprecision eventually I discovered throughout the text. Frustrating at first, eventually I came to understand that the blurriness of details may represent the best possible representation of extant reports, in conjunction with a landscape that has been badly eroded and, in many cases, physically leveled since 1862: a landscape both of terrain and of memory. So I can't fault the author for the fuzziness which seems to pervade his story which, as far as I know, may be the first book devoted to this particular subject. Future writers will no doubt improve upon this pioneering effort. It's interesting to me that Timothy B Smith chose to spend so little time focusing on the three commanders mentioned above, or on other pivotal characters like Halleck, Sherman, Thomas, Buell and Pope, or on Beauregard and his various brigadiers during the siege-phase of the story. Colorful personalities would have provided useful anchors for the narrative which otherwise too often comes across as vague and unmoored from any orienting landscape features. Especially in the battle of Corinth section one encounters page after page of tedious regimental details that never gel into a coherent tale; consequently, the reader is lost and his mind wanders. Essential anchoring features for orientation are lacking.
But Tim Smith is right: this is an important part of the broader story of the war in the West that has been overlooked for far too long.
When Corinth is remembered at all, it's usually afforded one or two sentences that record ― and usually mock ― Henry Halleck's slow, creeping advance on the city from the Shiloh battlefield. The resulting siege of the city (29 April-30 May 1862) was hardly a siege at all, but is better remembered that way than as Halleck's very slow forward assault, which is what it actually was.
Then there's the battle of Corinth (3-4 October 1862) in which the rebels tried and failed to recapture their fallen town. This was a brutal and ugly affair with big casualty lists on both sides that nevertheless is almost forgotten today. Why? A glance through the order of battle provides the essential clue. Except for the three commanders ― Earl Van Dorn, Sterling Price, William S Rosecrans ― how many of the named participants do you recognize? Not many, or fewer: strictly jayvee. And none of the three commanders mentioned has a stellar record; at a minimum, biographical accounts of all three are riddled with constellations of asterisks.
I was more interested in the so-called siege of Corinth than in the subsequent battle, and indeed this book filled in a lot of gaps for me about the advance of the federal troops south from Shiloh. Yet fairly often I felt that, in terms of actual routes taken and locations of fortifications, precision was lacking. This kind of cartographic imprecision eventually I discovered throughout the text. Frustrating at first, eventually I came to understand that the blurriness of details may represent the best possible representation of extant reports, in conjunction with a landscape that has been badly eroded and, in many cases, physically leveled since 1862: a landscape both of terrain and of memory. So I can't fault the author for the fuzziness which seems to pervade his story which, as far as I know, may be the first book devoted to this particular subject. Future writers will no doubt improve upon this pioneering effort. It's interesting to me that Timothy B Smith chose to spend so little time focusing on the three commanders mentioned above, or on other pivotal characters like Halleck, Sherman, Thomas, Buell and Pope, or on Beauregard and his various brigadiers during the siege-phase of the story. Colorful personalities would have provided useful anchors for the narrative which otherwise too often comes across as vague and unmoored from any orienting landscape features. Especially in the battle of Corinth section one encounters page after page of tedious regimental details that never gel into a coherent tale; consequently, the reader is lost and his mind wanders. Essential anchoring features for orientation are lacking.
But Tim Smith is right: this is an important part of the broader story of the war in the West that has been overlooked for far too long.
August 7, 2023
Corinth 1862 is an excellent read, and well written. Corinth is not a flashy name in Civil War battles, but it’s importance in the strategic sense was immense. Being a location of a crossroads where two railroads (one moving north-south, the other east west), made it a vital location for Confederate logistics and a rather obvious but hard to get to target for Federal forces. Many of the campaigns in the West in 1862 centered around with the capture of Corinth of its defense.
Mr Smith has written three books on this entire campaign, from Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh and finally Corinth. The battle in October of 1862 saw Earl Van Dorn being defeated decisively in his bid to recapture the town, and that finally settled this issue.
Mr Smith does a great job weaving soldiers accounts along with detailed tactical and operational analysis to paint a picture of great desperation and hard fighting.
Well done!!
Mr Smith has written three books on this entire campaign, from Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh and finally Corinth. The battle in October of 1862 saw Earl Van Dorn being defeated decisively in his bid to recapture the town, and that finally settled this issue.
Mr Smith does a great job weaving soldiers accounts along with detailed tactical and operational analysis to paint a picture of great desperation and hard fighting.
Well done!!
May 21, 2018
Aftermath of Shiloh
This book continues the campaign begun at Shiloh, but not in the same fast paced manner. It is, after all, about a siege. Unsettled questions abound in terms of who didn't attack and why. I thought the last half of the book suffered from signs of obvious padding and a lack of maps (e.g., the union pursuit or lack their of Van Dorn). It would be interesting to find out how much of the parks and memorials are devoted to "brave sons and daughters of the confederacy" and how many to the union forces and the slaves they help set free. Still an interesting read.
This book continues the campaign begun at Shiloh, but not in the same fast paced manner. It is, after all, about a siege. Unsettled questions abound in terms of who didn't attack and why. I thought the last half of the book suffered from signs of obvious padding and a lack of maps (e.g., the union pursuit or lack their of Van Dorn). It would be interesting to find out how much of the parks and memorials are devoted to "brave sons and daughters of the confederacy" and how many to the union forces and the slaves they help set free. Still an interesting read.
December 19, 2023
I picked up this book while I was on vacation visiting family in Corinth this summer 2023. I remember while growing up going to Corinth on family vacations visiting my family there and watching the town grow. Seeing the visitors center finally being built.
I enjoyed this book, I was able to put myself there while reading the book. The author does a great job of explaining the slow moving Union army that eventually would keep control of Corinth. Beaurguard practically gave the town up without a fight, Van Dorn would attempt to take back what the south desperately needed to keep. You get a good understanding of the horrible conditions that both armies faced bad water, heat, and humidity.
I enjoyed this book, I was able to put myself there while reading the book. The author does a great job of explaining the slow moving Union army that eventually would keep control of Corinth. Beaurguard practically gave the town up without a fight, Van Dorn would attempt to take back what the south desperately needed to keep. You get a good understanding of the horrible conditions that both armies faced bad water, heat, and humidity.
September 26, 2025
I appreciated that the author took time to include information about the initial Union plodding advance on Corinth after Shiloh, as that is very much glossed over in many other theater-based narratives.
But sections on the actual battle when the confederates returned and attacked do pale in comparison to Peter Cozzen's book on the same subject (which also has much better maps).
But sections on the actual battle when the confederates returned and attacked do pale in comparison to Peter Cozzen's book on the same subject (which also has much better maps).
April 22, 2023
An excellent book on the year long process of taking and holding the vital railroad junction at Corinth, Mississippi. Well researched and written by the foremost historian on the Civil War in the Mississippi Valley, this is a must read.
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