page_title: Siege of Corinth
section_title: Aftermath
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Corinth / Aftermath
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of battlefield core and study areas. The historic Memphis and Charlestown Railroad serves as the western edge of the Study Area, while the valley of Sevenmile Creek represents the eastern boundary. The heights surrounding Corinth in the north, which were dominated by Confederate earthworks, and the heights surrounding Corinth in the east, which were used by both Confederate and Federal forces, are included. The ABPP included the multiple converging Federal advance routes from Tennessee to illustrate the importance of Corinth as a regional military objective. The Mobile and Ohio Railroad, used as the Confederate retreat route, was included for its significance as the most direct avenue of escape from Corinth to the south. A large Core Area near Farmington represents the Confederate attack on the isolated Federal Army of the Mississippi on May 9th. The wedge-shaped Core Area represents the Federal bombardment of Corinth and its defenses on May 28th. The northernmost Core Area represents the location of most intense fighting as the Federal Army of the Tennessee advanced down the Purdy Road on May 22. The Core Areas along Phillips and Bridge creeks represent several intense skirmishes, particularly in the area of the Surrett House (May 21-28).
context_page_description: The siege 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.
  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". 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". Another reason for the town's importance was that, if captured by Union forces, it would threaten the security of Chattanooga 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.
context_section_description: John Pope, whose aggressiveness exceeded his strategic capabilities, 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."
  A Confederate army led by Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn attempted to retake the city in October 1862, but was defeated in the Second Battle of Corinth by a Union army under the command of Rosecrans. At times during the second battle, Confederate forces seemed to have the upper hand but would fail to follow up their successes leading to a devastating defeat for Confederate forces in that region. Rosecrans had the opportunity to crush rebel forces during the battle but failed to follow up his victory, allowing Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn to escape from destruction. Corinth would ultimately lead to the operations that would open the Mississippi River valley which was considered by General Chief Henry W. Halleck as, "the opening of the Mississippi River will be to us of more advantage than the capture of forty Richmonds". Confederate Brigadier General Joseph L. Hogg, father of the famous future Texas governor Jim Hogg, contracted dysentery during the siege and died on May 16, 1862.
caption: Map of the siege of Corinth battlefield core and study areas by the American Battlefield Protection Program
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