ACW: Siege of Corinth - "Crossroads of the Confederacy"

Video Statistics and Information

Video
Captions Word Cloud
Reddit Comments
Captions
It is late April, 1862. Following the  Union’s decisive yet costly victory at   the Battle of Shiloh, Major General Henry  Wager Halleck, commanding the Union’s   Department of the Mississippi, arrives at  Pittsburg Landing to assume overall command   of his forces, comprised of three field  armies - the Army of the Tennessee under   Major General Ulysses S. Grant; the Army of  the Ohio under Major General Don Carlos Buell;   and the Army of the Mississippi  under Major General John Pope,   recently promoted following his decisive  victory at the Battle of Island Number Ten.  Despite claiming victory from the jaws of  defeat, it is not easy for Halleck’s soldiers   to feel optimistic after the bloody Battle  of Shiloh. It has been a wet spring, and the   constant rains have turned the Pittsburg Landing  battlefield into a muddy quagmire of horror.   The wounded, sick and dead lay mingled in the  mud; the sights, smells and sounds are sickening.   Burial parties are everywhere; wagons and open  pits are full of corpses. Summing up the aftermath   of Shiloh in the days after the battle, one  soldier said, “War is hell broke loose.”  Halleck’s arrival at Pittsburg Landing in the  weeks after Shiloh signals a new beginning   of the Federal campaign. He sees  his task as similar to the situation   in Missouri after he had taken over from Major  General John C. Frémont: cleaning up a mess.   This time, however, it is, to him, Grant’s mess.  He evaluates Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio,   which had joined Grant’s Army of the  Tennessee on the second day at Shiloh,   as being in ‘good condition,’ but he castigates  Grant’s force as ‘without discipline and order.’   ‘Immediate and active measures must be  taken to put your command in condition   to resist another attack by the enemy,’ he berates  Grant. He also orders Major General Pope to bring   his Army of the Mississippi immediately to Shiloh. Large reorganizations are unfolding at Pittsburg   Landing in the weeks after Shiloh. Halleck, whose  military department is geographically the largest   under Federal jurisdiction, is now organizing  what would become the young war’s largest   military force. He takes three armies and merges  them into a single unit of more than 100,000 men.   The collection of officer talent that leads these  troops is similarly impressive: In addition to   Halleck, Grant, Buell and Pope, there is George  H. Thomas, William T. Sherman, William Rosecrans,   Philip Sheridan, James B. McPherson, John  McClernand, John A. Logan, James A. Garfield,   William ‘Bull’ Nelson, Jefferson  C. Davis and Lew Wallace.  On April 30th, Halleck establishes three wings  of his new army: the Right Wing, under Thomas,   consisting of four divisions from the Army  of the Tennessee and one division from the   Army of the Ohio; the Center Wing, under Buell,  consisting of four divisions from the Army of the   Ohio; and the Left Wing, under Pope, made up of  four divisions from the Army of the Mississippi.   The reserve, under McClernand, consists  of two Army of the Tennessee divisions   and one from the Army of the Ohio. Grant becomes second in overall command.   Halleck always insisted that he made this  assignment because Grant’s rank required it,   but in fact he does not trust Grant  and wants to keep a close eye on him.   Halleck later said of Grant, ‘I never saw a man  more deficient in the business of organization.   Brave & able in the field, he has no idea  of how to regulate & organize his forces   before a battle or to conduct  the operations of a campaign.’  Facing this massive Union army is General  P. G. T. Beauregard’s still- recovering Army   of Mississippi. After the loss at Shiloh on  April 7th, it had staggered back to Corinth,   leaving scattered along the roads  everything from blankets to tent poles,   muskets to broken wagons. The original commander,  Albert Sidney Johnston, had died in battle,   and Beauregard, who had replaced him, had not  inspired immediate confidence by ordering an end   to the first day’s attack. During that evening,  Buell had arrived and Grant had reorganized,   and the revitalized Union army had swept the  Confederates off the field on the second day.  Beauregard recognizes how shattered his troops  are and calls for reinforcements. When the   long-awaited Major General Earl Van Dorn with  his Army of the West arrives from across the   Mississippi River in mid-April, his command  consists of only about 14,000 men. Beauregard   adds these soldiers to his own 30,000 and scrapes  together others from all over the Confederacy to   create a respectable force of 70,000 with which  to face Halleck’s 100,000. Unfortunately for him,   nearly 20,000 Confederates are suffering from  wounds or disease. Beauregard does, however,   have many well-known generals in his officer  corps, including Van Dorn, Leonidas Polk,   William Hardee, Braxton Bragg, John C.  Breckinridge, Mansfield Lovell and Sterling Price.  Corinth, where the Confederate army is entrenched,  is not a large city. Incorporated in 1856,   it was originally named Cross City because  the east-west Memphis & Charleston Railroad   and the north-south Mobile & Ohio Railroad were  slated to intersect there in the near future.   When the Civil War began, Corinth was still a  small village with a population of only 1,000.  Once the fighting started, the city became  a rallying point for troops and supplies.   When Albert Sidney Johnston and his army arrived  there after the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson   in February, 1862, the city gained more  than 40,000 new military residents,   numbers of whom were already ill or became ill  and died. Corinth resembles a huge hospital   and morgue. Entrenchments protecting the city,  begun under Bragg’s direction prior to Shiloh,   now stretch into 10 miles of mounded clay and  lumber. They reinforce the natural defenses of the   swamps and the flooded streams. They run out of  coffins because of the huge number of deaths, but   there is always plenty of clay to dig and pile up. The terrain that separates the Union army at   Pittsburg Landing and the Confederate army some 22  miles away in Corinth is rolling, wooded and, in   places, swampy and traversed by streams and roads.  These bodies of water are hardly imposing enough   to stop an advancing army, but they are robust  enough, particularly because of the wet spring,   to make land approaches swampy  and water crossings difficult.  There are several roads leading into the city.  A direct road runs from Pittsburg Landing to   Corinth, first passing through Monterey 10 miles  out, and then continuing for another nine miles   into the former Cross City. This is the route  that the Right Wing follows. The Center Wing   follows the Purdy-Farmington Road, while the  Left Wing travels along the Hamburg-Corinth Road,   which passes through Farmington. Rain is a major problem, resulting in a   flood that carries away bridges, and creating mud  that slows road traffic to an exhausting crawl.   One rainy day, General Pope almost loses his boots  in slogging through the mud to get to Halleck’s   tent. Future president James Garfield, currently  a Brigadier General serving under Buell’s staff,   bemoans how the “succession of heavy rains made  camp life in these woods very uncomfortable.”   Soldiers have to clear numerous trees the  Confederates had dropped in the army’s path,   and they also corduroy roads through the  swamps. It is a difficult existence. Inexorably,   however, Union troops are bearing down on the  Mississippi-Tennessee border in a line almost   12 miles wide. They expect a major battle soon, a  repeat of the horror of Shiloh. However, it will   not be so. The Siege of Corinth, also known in  retrospect as the First Battle of Corinth, begins   on April 29th, 1862, when the first Federal units  reach the outskirts of the city’s defensive lines.  Rumors of Confederate activity fill the air,  influencing the generals and the lowliest privates   alike. Still, by May 3rd, Pope’s wing is only a  mile and a half from Farmington, which is a scant   four miles from Corinth. Slowing its progress,  however, is a swollen creek to the front and what   is described as ‘an impregnable jungle and  swamp’ to the left. Pope also worries that Buell,   on his right, is not keeping up. During this same  time, Thomas’ Right Wing advances beyond Monterey   until rain stops any further movement. Sherman,  who commands a division in the Right Wing,   describes the situation in a circular to his  soldiers: ‘Our situation from the rain and road   has become difficult, and it becomes the duty of  every officer and man to anticipate our danger   and labor. Every ounce of food and forage must  be regarded as precious as diamonds….General   Halleck and our superior officers will do all  they can, but their power is limited by nature.’  The weather turns briefly hot and dry, and  the army begins a siege of Corinth - what   one soldier terms the ‘First Epistle to  the Corinthians.’ Soldiers on both sides   had predicted a quick fight. Union troops  had believed they would be marching into   Corinth by May 2nd, but this was not to be. Horrible weather and subsequent widespread   illness has played a role in this slow  movement, but Halleck is the primary   reason for the stalled advance. He is the  authority on military theory, and his book   calls for massing troops and winning victories  through maneuver and numerical superiority.   He had also been Dennis Hart Mahan’s star pupil at  West Point and, like Mahan, he is a great admirer   of the French doctrine that emphasizes the  necessity of field fortifications, particularly   for amateur soldiers like the ones that comprise  his massive army. So he digs in at every chance he   has. The memory of the recent surprise Confederate  attack at Shiloh only makes his orders regarding   entrenchments more insistent. He masses, he  inches forward, he worries and he entrenches.  On the battlefield, however, Halleck’s  army continues moving forward.   He keeps his forces massed, constantly worried  about Beauregard’s Confederates flanking him   on his right or finding a gap between two  wings. He knows that he has to keep watch   on Pope and his Left Wing in particular, as Pope  displays an aggressiveness that concerns Halleck.   On May 3rd, Pope moves one of his  divisions forward toward Farmington,   only four miles from Corinth. Instead of  ordering the Center and Right wings to align   with Pope’s advanced Left Wing, Halleck  orders Pope back to his original place.  Four days later, on May 7th, Pope requests  permission to send forward a reconnaissance   force to investigate the recurring rumor  that the Confederates were evacuating   Corinth. Halleck agrees and offers support from  Buell’s Center Wing. However, the very next day,   he orders Pope to “avoid any general engagement”,  as he is unsure that Buell has received   his own orders for support. However, Pope claims  that by now it is too late to avoid engaging the   enemy. He reports that the Confederates had  launched their own attack and were driving   his pickets in. After hearing this, Halleck  then changes his mind regarding Pope’s orders,   stating he is unsure of the situation in the  field. The Confederate resistance proves to be   feeble for the Union commanders. Pope deduces that  they are either evacuating Corinth, or that they   are trying to draw the Federals out onto the road.  What Pope and Halleck are unaware of, however,   is that the Confederates have in fact botched a  planned attack and were now withdrawing back into   their entrenchments. The fog of war looms heavily  over the Federals at the start of the siege.  By mid-May, Halleck’s army is located within  two to three miles of Corinth. Beauregard is   still planning an attack on the encroaching  Union forces, still undeterred by his botched   movement against Pope at Farmington. He implements  a new plan, this time to have his entire army go   on the offensive. Once again, though, the strike  never materializes since General Van Dorn,   whose command is scheduled to lead off the assault  on May 22nd, fails to move on time for the attack.  If Pope displayed an unwavering propensity for  moving forward, Grant has an even more daring   idea. Thinking long and hard, he finally gets up  the nerve to suggest to Halleck that he order Pope   to pull his Left Wing out of line, march ge there.  Grant insists that a stream and multiple swamps   already protect Pope’s position, so  it only needs pickets to defend it.  Meanwhile, in Corinth, the Confederates are  constructing their own permanent breastworks,   which are even more formidable than those  the Union army is constructing daily.   The Confederates regularly hear rumors of a  Union attack, some whispering to each other   that Halleck has troops to their rear, at  Tupelo. While Halleck repeatedly expresses   concerns about a Confederate attack on his  right and experiences minor combat on his left,   Beauregard is worried about flanking  movements like the one Grant had suggested.   He also realizes that Halleck is drawing ever  closer to the Confederate defensive lines with his   siege tactics. If he breached the entrenchments,  he could capture not only the city and the   railroads going through it but also Beauregard’s  army. The Louisiana general had to do something.  On May 25th, Beauregard calls in his corps  commanders. He is running out of water for his   soldiers and draft animals, and the unhealthy  conditions are resulting in burgeoning levels   of ill health. He still wants to attack the Union  army, but he can not see how to breach Halleck’s   entrenchments without incurring major casualties.  He hates to admit to himself and his officers that   the only viable option that remains is to abandon  Corinth and save the army to fight another day.  For most of the campaign, the Union army had heard  railroad trains entering and leaving the city on   a regular basis. For several days in late May,  some of Logan’s men put their ears to the rails   and can tell there is increased railroad  activity. Beauregard is up to something,   but Halleck does not know what. Sherman offers to  send troops forward to find out, but after Halleck   gives him permission, he then wavers, saying: “If  not too late, hold your position. If, however,   you consider the risk too great, fall back.” Of all the Union generals, the aggressive   Pope is particularly nervous about Confederate  intentions. He had, after all, already been the   target of several attacks, so he wants to make  sure he knows what is going on to his front.   On May 27th, he tells Halleck that a woman who  lives within sight of one of the railroads is sure   that Beauregard’s army is planning a withdrawal  toward Memphis, Tennessee. Soon after, though,   Pope changes his mind and insists that  Beauregard’s men are massing to his front,   and he expects an all-out attack. The noise coming  out of Corinth is increasingly disconcerting to   him. Pope writes to Halleck of his worries that  the Confederates are preparing to make a move.  Halleck reacts immediately. He tells Buell,  in the center of the Federal siege works,   to be ready to support Pope  when he comes under attack.   After sending these orders to Buell, however,  Halleck receives a new dispatch from Pope,   who claims that he is now certain Beauregard  is planning a withdraw from Corinth.   With the fog of war shrouding their situation,  Halleck is unsure what to believe. He writes,   “reports from Corinth respecting enemy’s movement  are so conflicting, it is very difficult to fix   definitely now our plans.” However, he finally  decides that an enemy attack is imminent.  It turns out that just the opposite is  happening. On May 30th, rather than massing   to attack Halleck’s army, Beauregard’s force  is abandoning Corinth. He uses the trains to   evacuate his incapacitated men and his supplies,  but he makes it seem as though reinforcements   are actually pouring in. Every time an empty train  rumbles into the city to evacuate wounded and sick   soldiers and much-needed supplies, Beauregard  has healthy soldiers cheer as though the train   had just brought in new troops. A regimental  band plays festive music, fake deserters are   sent to Union lines to tell false tales, and  wooden, or Quaker guns replace real ones in the   entrenchments. Beauregard uses every trick he  can think of to fool Halleck. The Confederates   evacuate Corinth before the Federals know what  has happened. The Union troops eventually march   into the abandoned fortifications that evening  with no Confederate soldiers in sight and the   Quaker guns standing as a silent rebuke to  Union timidity. The Siege of Corinth is over.  Even though Beauregard’s army has escaped, Halleck  has taken Corinth. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton,   not one of Halleck’s fans, calls the city’s  capture a “brilliant and successful achievement.”   Halleck himself is thrilled with what  he considers his great accomplishment.   His book on military theory emphasizes the  importance of gaining control of strategic   places; to him, capturing armies is not important.  So to Halleck, his capture of Corinth, with its   strategic north-south and east-west railroads,  is a major victory - no matter that Beauregard   has escaped. And he had done it all, he tells  his wife, “with very little loss of life….I have   won the victory without the battle!” Even more  inspiring, his men have given him a nickname in   honor of his achievement. They begin calling him  “Old Brains,” a name he carries from that time on.  Halleck’s officers, including Grant, are  similarly pleased with the victory and   extoll him as a military genius. Sherman says  that Corinth is “a victory as brilliant and   important as any recorded in history.” Halleck  had said on May 25th that “Richmond and Corinth   are now the great strategical points of war,” and  he had now captured one of them. At the same time,   McClellan’s attempt to take Richmond remains  bogged down on the Virginia Peninsula. Newspapers   might criticize Halleck, and some soldiers might  grumble, but Old Brains had done what he had set   out to do. It apparently did not matter that he  does not follow up the victory and instead breaks   up his vast army in the siege’s aftermath. And so, for the next three months after the   Union victory at Corinth, the Western  Theater remains relatively quiet.   Instead, national attention begins to shift  back towards the Eastern Theater and Virginia,   where Major General George B. McClellan’s Army of  the Potomac is finally advancing against Richmond.
Info
Channel: Warhawk
Views: 87,346
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: Siege of Corinth 1862, American civil war first battle of corinth, american civil war siege of corinth, battle of shiloh aftermath, first battle of corinth, civil war siege of corinth, warhawk civil war, american civil war first corinth, first corinth battle, corinth battle, second battle of corinth, first battle of corinth 1862, battle of corinth, siege of corinth mississippi, american civil war siege, corinth western theater, civil war animated battles
Id: 8S_6ZqF38ko
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 22min 20sec (1340 seconds)
Published: Tue Mar 30 2021
Related Videos
Note
Please note that this website is currently a work in progress! Lots of interesting data and statistics to come.