Information Courtesy of the
Minnesota Civil War Commemoration Task Force
Major Highlights for the week
Wednesday May 28, 1862
Skirmishing occurred near Corinth, Mississippi and Charles Town, Virginia. Confederate supplies at Ashland, Virginia were destroyed, along with a bridge on the Virginia Central Railroad on the South Anna River.
The 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment built the famous “Grapevine” bridge over the Chickahominy River as part of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign. Construction started the day before.
Thursday May 29, 1862
Major General Nathaniel P. Banks’s Federals gathered around Harper’s Ferry, Virginia while Confederate Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s forces demonstrated nearby.
Skirmishes occurred near Seven Pines and Wardensville, Virginia; Pocotaligo, South Carolina; Kickapoo Bottom and Whitesburg, Arkansas; and Booneville, Mississippi.
Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard called for trains and troops to make loud noises at Corinth, Mississippi to give the appearance that reinforcements were on the way. It was a ruse that allowed Beauregard’s troops to escape towards Tupelo, Mississippi.
Thaddeus S.C. Lowe reported a large Confederate build up south of the river from his famous balloon corps.
Friday May 30, 1862
Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard finished the evacuation of Corinth, Mississippi. The Federal army under Major General Henry W. Halleck cautiously moved into Corinth and the rail yards but were too late.
Skirmishing occurred at Fair Oaks, Lewisburg, Shaver’s River and Zuni, Virginia; and at Tranter’s Creek, North Carolina. Heavy rains fell on the Virginia Peninsula inundating the bottom lands making the Army of the Potomac’s travels most difficult.
President Abraham Lincoln continued to urge his commanders in the Shenandoah – Major Generals Nathaniel P. Banks, John C. Fremont and Brigadier General Irvin McDowell – to capture or destroy Confederate Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s forces.
Saturday May 31, 1862
BATTLE OF FAIR OAKS
Federal Major General George B. McClellan split his forces on Virginia’s Peninsula, placing three corps on the northeast side of the Chickahominy River, with the remaining two corps on the south side. Realizing that the Federal army was split, Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston attacked the two corps on the south side of the river in the early afternoon. Around 2 p.m. Lowe’s balloon, Intrepid, was cross-inflated from the gas inside the balloon Constitution. Lowe saw Johnston’s army moving into battle position and relayed the information to McClellan, who ordered Brigadier General Edwin V. Sumner’s corps to cross the river shortly after the first shots were fired. Sumner’s troops had already crossed the Grapevine Bridge by the time the order was received. The reinforcements blunted the Confederate drive and the impetus was gone from the Confederate assault. Johnston was severely wounded during the engagement and was relieved by Major General Gustavus Woodson Smith. McClellan’s forces sustained 980 killed, 4,749 wounded and 405 missing for a total of 6,134 of the 39,000 engaged. The Confederates went into the battle with 34,000 men and lost 790 killed, 3,594 wounded and 647 missing for a total loss of 5,031.
Sunday June 1, 1862
Confederate Major General Gustavus Woodson Smith’s tenure in command would be brief, lasting less than a day. Confederate President Jefferson Davis, who was touring the battlefield the day before, replaced him with General Robert E. Lee, who was still considered a failure for his western Virginia campaign. Lee was serving as Davis’s military advisor at the time the appointment was made.
The Confederates tried to break through the Federal lines with an attack by Major General James Longstreet’s forces, but it was unsuccessful. General Lee soon ordered his army to withdraw to their original battle lines.
Monday June 2, 1862
Skirmishing occurred at Strasburg and Woodstock, Virginia; Rienzi, Mississippi; Galloway’s Farm near Jacksonport, Arkansas; on the Little Blue River in Jackson County, Missouri; and at Tranter’s Creek, North Carolina. On the Virginia Peninsula, both the Federal Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia rested after two days of fighting at Fair Oaks.
Tuesday June 3, 1862
The Confederate retreat from Corinth, Mississippi broke the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, a vital Confederate east-west link and rendered the northern outposts on the Mississippi River useless. The Confederate garrison at Fort Pillow vacated the fort making a weak flotilla the only hope of success for the Confederates in the Northern Mississippi River Valley.
Where Minnesota Regiments were the week of May 28 – June 3, 1862
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Construction of the Grapevine Bridge and the Battle of Fair Oaks as part of McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in operations in and around Corinth, Miss.
3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty at Murfreesboro, Tenn.
4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Advanced on and participated in siege of Corinth, Miss. After the fall of Corinth, pursued the Confederate forces to Booneville, Mississippi.
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Companies B, C and D remained in Minnesota and Dakota Territory on garrison duty while the remaining participated in the siege of Corinth, Miss, including a skirmish on the 28th and occupation of Corinth on the 30th.
Brackett’s Battalion of Minnesota Cavalry – Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss. After the fall of Corinth, pursued the Confederate forces to Booneville, Mississippi.
1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery – Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss.
2nd Independent Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery – Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss. After the fall of Corinth, pursued the Confederate forces to Booneville, Mississippi.
1st United States Sharpshooters, Company I – Participated in action at Hanover Courthouse, Va. Was assigned to the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry as Company L effective May 30, formally joining their new regiment on June 3.
2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company A – Participated in McDowell’s advance on Richmond, Va.
