Corinth, Battle of

▪ United States history

 (October 3–4, 1862), in the American Civil War, a battle that ended in a decisive victory of Union forces over Confederate forces in northeastern Mississippi. Believing that the capture of the strategically important town of Corinth would break the Union hold on the Corinth-Memphis railroad and drive Union General Ulysses S. Grant (Grant, Ulysses S.) from western Tennessee, the Confederate generals Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price (Price, Sterling) attacked with 22,000 men. After indecisive fighting on October 3, a furious hour-long battle was fought near Corinth on October 4, during which Union forces under General William S. Rosecrans (Rosecrans, William S) repulsed the Confederates and sent them into full retreat. During this brief but bloody clash, Union casualties totaled 2,520; the Confederates lost 4,233.

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