Corinth, Battle of

In the American Civil War, unsuccessful Confederate attempt 3–4 October 1862 to recover Corinth, a town in Mississippi about 130 km/80 mi west of Memphis, which they had abandoned May 1862 after the battle of Shiloh.

The town was held by 23,000 Union troops under General William Rosecrans when it was attacked by a 22,000-strong Confederate force under General Earl van Dorn 3 October. Rosecrans' forces were well entrenched, but the initial Confederate attack drove them out of their forward line. The attack was resumed on the following day, but was unable to make any further gains, after which a Union counterattack put the Confederates to flight. Van Dorn lost 6,423 men who were killed and wounded, and a further 2,250 were taken as prisoners; Union casualties were 2,359.