The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1915-05-28
GLADDENED BY
FALL OF CORINTH
ThiTtieth Of May, 1862, Was a
Day of Great Rejoicing in
the North.
THE thirtieth of May in 1862 was

THE thirtieth of May in 1862 was
made memorable in Civil war his
tory by the evacuation of Corinth,
Miss. The seizure of this Confederate
stronghold by the Union armies was
an event which, estimated by its re-
suits, may be regarded as the first i'm
portant event of the war. Since the
first Of May Halleck had been trying
to gain possession of this stronghold,
which, at that time, was held by Beau
regard. In the meantime Old Farm
ington, the strongly fortified outpost
OF the COnfederacy, about four miles
from Corinth, had been given up; Mar
maduke, who had been in command
there, had retired to Corinth to re-
enforce Beauregard The Union
forces had taken possession of Old
Pennington, had cut off Beauregard's
railroad connections to the north and
east and had, by the twenty-ninth of
May, succeeded in working their way
TO a position near the Confederate
Notifications at Corinth from which
al assault NOulu UG LlFut.
1t was Halleck's intention to make
an assault on the following morning,
and he was expecting to meet with
strong resistance. But Halleck's ex-
pectations we're not realized. All night
long the pickets and sentinels heard
continuous roar of moving cars in
Corinth. At early dawn Halleck sent
out skirmishers, but no foe appeared
to oppose them. He then ordered
Sherman to advance with his troops
toward the Confederate Notifications
and to feel the enemy" But no en-
emy could be found Where was he?
Out near Old Pennington there still
stands a tall tree which today is
pointed out to sightseers who visit
Corinth as Lookout Tree From the
top Of this tree the Union spies, at the
time of the siege. with a field glass,
used to observe the movements of the |
Confederate troops
/ The morning Of the thirtieth of May |
1862, these spies saw only the rear of |
Beauregards army far to the south of |
Corinth fleeing down the Mobile rail- |
road. The enemy whom Sherman had |
been sent to feel" had escaped. The |
city had been evacuated and left as a
prize Of war to the Union army.
On this thlrtieth of May there was
much rejoicing in the northern states,
for all through the month of May the
people there had been awaiting the
outcome Of this siege. On the follow
ing morning there appeared in the
New York Tribune long editorial be-
ginning thus:
Another stronghold of the rebels
has fallen. Corinth is reannexed to
the Union, and Beauregard's army is
flying down the Mobile railroad in
anxious search for the last ditch"
This tells the story. Soon after the
thirtieth Of May OF the preceding year
the battle of Bull Run had given the
COrfederates strong footing in the
East, but since the beginning Of the
year 1862 the Union forces had been
gaining a series of victories in the
Mississippi valley; Pea Ridge, Shiloh,
iRSand Number Ten, New Madrid and
Fort DonelsOn had prepared the way
Tor the victory at Corinth. The result
Of this victory was the establishment
Of the power of the Union in the West.
One week later Memphis fell, as it
were. by its own weight. This gave
the Union forces control Of the Missis-
sippi the ONLY important stronghold
in tie Mississippi valley that re-
malned secure to the Confederates.
While the people in the North on
this thirtieth of May we're rejoicing
over the victory of their soldiers at
Corinth and over the results which
they felt would inevitably follow, what
about the people in the South? Nearly
. year had now passed since the vic.