154 



AKMY OPERATIONS. 



The effect of this battle was to relieve Gen. 

 Buell from all danger of an attack by Gen. 

 Price on his rear, while moving against Gen. 

 Bragg. On the 22d Gen. Grant's forces re- 

 turned to Corinth, and Gen. Rosecrans to Ja- 

 cinto. Gen. Van Dorn through delays had 

 not reached Corinth as soon as had been plan- 

 ned, and Gen. Grant by now abandoning luka 

 reached the former place in advance of Gen. 

 Van Dorn. On the 26th Gen. Rosecrans pro- 

 ceeded to Corinth, and took command of that 

 position, Gen. Grant having been ordered to 

 Jackson, and Gen. Ord to Bolivar. Jackson is 

 forty-seven miles, and Bolivar nineteen miles' 

 by railroad north of Grand Junction, which is 

 forty-one miles by railroad west of Corinth. 

 By the ordinary routes Jackson is fifty-one 

 miles north, and Bolivar forty miles northwest 

 of Corinth. Meantime, Gen. Price retreating 

 southwesterly from luka by Bay Spring, reached 

 Baldwin, Miss., thirty miles. Thence he moved 

 northwest to Dumas, fifteen miles, where he 

 joined Gen. Van Dorn ; thence to Pocahontas, 

 thirty miles, where he was joined by Gen. 

 Lovell ; thence down the Chewalla, and from 

 thence to Corinth by the old State Line road. 

 Gen Van Dorn took the chief command at 

 Dumas. 



Meanwhile Gen. Rosecrans, anticipating that 

 an attack would be made on his position at 

 Corinth, prepared to meet it. The fortifica- 

 tions constructed by Gen. Beauregard in the 

 beginning of the year were on the north and 

 east, and two miles from the centre of Corinth, 

 and required an immense force to occupy them. 

 After Gen. Halleck took possession of the 

 town he constructed a line of intrenchments 

 inside those of Gen. Beauregard. Afterward, 

 upon consultation between Gens. Grant and 

 Rosecrans, it was determined to construct a 

 line inside that of Gen. Halleck. This was 

 done under the direction of Capt. Prim of the 

 U. S. engineers. It consisted of a chain of re- 

 doubts, arranged for the concentric fire of 

 heavy batteries. Learning the approach of the 

 Confederate forces, Gen. Rosecrans ordered 

 Gen. Ogleby with his brigade to proceed up 

 the Che walla road and meet them, with instruc- 

 tions to resist strongly enough to draw them un- 

 der the defences of Corinth. McArthur next 

 went forward and sent back for assistance. Gen. 

 Davis was then ordered to send a small force, 

 but moved with his whole division. This oc- 

 cupied the 30th of September, and the 1st and 

 2d of October. On the 3d the Confederate 

 force was greatly increased, and the fighting be- 

 came severe; Gen. Oglesby was wuunded, and 

 Gen. Ilackelman killed, and the loss in killed, 

 wounded, and prisoners was considerable, and 

 the Union troops were driven back to their 

 defences. 



On the north and east of Corinth, hill and 

 swampy ground alternate, which is on the 

 whole heavily timbered. On the left hand 

 side of the railroad there is occasionally an 

 open field. The Union army faced to the 



north. On the front of its right centre there 

 was a heavily thicketed swamp almost impass- 

 able for masses of infantry. On the left cen- 

 tre the ground was quite hilly. "Where the 

 right wing was posted it was rolling, but fell 

 off in front into heavily timbered ground, such 

 as to be swampy in rainy weath'er. The Che- 

 walla road enters the town on the left, and the 

 Bolivar road on the right centre. Excepting at 

 this last named point Corinth was approach- 

 able in an unbroken line of battle. The new 

 line of fortifications consisted of four revetted 

 redoubts, covering the whole front of the town, 

 and protecting the flanks. The front of the 

 extreme right was strengthened by the old 

 works of Gen. Beauregard. On the left of the 

 extreme right, which was held by Gen. Hamil- 

 ton's division, a new five-gun battery was con- 

 structed on the night of Friday the 3d. This 

 was in direct range of the point where the Boli- 

 var road entered the town. The previously 

 mentioned fort on the extreme right flanked 

 that road. The hills over which the Chewalla 

 road entered the town were commanded by 

 Fort Williams, which mounted twenty -pounder 

 Parrotts. On a high, narrow ridge was located 

 Fort Robinson, which with Fort Williams en- 

 filaded both the Chewalla and Bolivar roads. 

 Another fort on the extreme left protected the 

 left and strengthened the centre. Seve'ral 

 forts in the rear were so located as to be of 

 much service during the action. Their guns 

 were reversed, and turned toward the centre. 



On the extreme right was stationed the divi- 

 sion of Gen. Hamilton. Its right rested near 

 the fort first mentioned and the old works of 

 Gen. Beauregard, and stretched from the south 

 side of the road to Purdy. Its left rested be- 

 hind Fort Richardson. On the left Gen. Davies' 

 division joined it, and in consecutive order six 

 companies of Illinois sharpshooters and Burke's 

 Missouri sharpshooters; Gen. Stanley's division, 

 consisting of two brigades, and Gen. McKeon's 

 division, Avith Gen. Arthur's brigade, were on 

 the extreme left. The cavalry, under the com- 

 mand of Col. Misener, was stationed on the 

 wings and in the rear. Suitable forces were 

 held as reserves and to protect the rear. The 

 front line was covered by crests of undulations 

 on the surface. On the night of the 3d, the 

 Confederate line was formed within a thousand 

 yards of the Union position. Before daybreak 

 the Confederates were heard at work planting a 

 battery on a hill in front of and about 200 yards 

 from Fort Robinett, and soon after they opened 

 a furious fire on Corinth. At daylight, the 

 Parrott guns in Fort "Williams opened upon 

 this Confederate battery and in a few minutes 

 silenced it. Two of the guns were removed, 

 but the third was taken and drawn within the 

 Federal line. Skirmishing also opened at vari- 

 ous points in front, which was constantly in- 

 creasing to the magnitude of a battle. The 

 Confederate lines, however, were still invisible. 

 About half past nine o'clock dark and threat- 

 ening masses of Confederate troops were sud- 



