Information courtesy of the
Minnesota Civil War Commemoration Task Force
(www.mncivilwar150.com and “Minnesota Civil War 150” on Facebook)
Major Highlights for the Week
Wednesday October 1, 1862
Disturbed since the Battle of Antietam about the status of the Army of the Potomac, President Abraham Lincoln, with a party of advisers, made the journey from Washington to Harper’s Ferry to confer with Major General George B. McClellan and other officers.
There was a considerable amount of skirmishing between Federal and Confederate cavalry along the Potomac River near Sharpsburg, Maryland, Shepherdstown and Martinsville in western Virginia. Other fighting was at Ruckersville, Mississippi and at Davis’s Bridge near Nashville, Tennessee.
Thursday October 2, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln shifted from Harper’s Ferry to the Headquarters of the Army of the Potomac, occupying a tent next to Major General George B. McClellan’s. The president made a memo of total troops in the Army of the Potomac and arrived at a figure of 88,095 soldiers.
Friday October 3, 1862
BATTLE OF CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI
In midmorning, Confederates under Earl Van Dorn and Sterling Price drove in against Rosecrans’s Federals from northwest of Corinth, Mississippi. After severe fighting and piecemeal assaults, the Federals were driven into strong defensive redoubts closer to the city. By night the issue was still in doubt. Grant, at Jackson, Tennessee, was in over-all command of the area, had not been sure where the combined Confederate attack would be made. Van Dorn was gambling that a victory at Corinth would force the Federals in west Tennessee to draw back to Kentucky and the Ohio River.
Saturday October 4, 1862
BATTLE OF CORINTH, MISSISSIPPI – DAY 2
At Corinth, Mississippi, the Confederates of General Van Dorn renewed their heavy attacks against the well-posted Federals of Rosecrans. Both the assaults and Union counterattacks were costly, particularly at Battery Robinette, with little decided. Eventually repulsed, the Confederates withdrew in early afternoon to Chewalla, ten miles northwest of Corinth. More Federal troops came in after the battle ended, but there was no pursuit until the next day. The figures: Union – 23,000 effective troops with 355 killed, 1,841 wounded and 324 missing for 2,530 casualties. Confederates had an effective strength of 22,000 and suffered 473 killed, 1,997 wounded and 1,763 missing for a combined loss of 4,233. The attack succeeded in taking the pressure off of Braxton Bragg in Kentucky by preventing reinforcements to Federal Major General Don Carlos Buell, but they failed to capture the important rail and road center at Corinth, or to wreck Rosecrans force and make Grant pull back towards the Ohio River.
President Lincoln remained with Major General George B. McClellan visiting camps, hospitals and battlefields, leaving in the afternoon for Washington.
Sunday October 5, 1862
Rosecrans’s Federal army ineffectively pursued Van Dorn, who was withdrawing from Corinth, Mississippi. However, Federal forces under E.O.C. Ord from Bolivar, Tennessee, did intercept the retreating Confederates at the Hatchie River near Pocahontas, Tennessee, where there was brief but severe fighting in the afternoon. While the Federals regrouped, the battered Confederates managed to extricate themselves and continue to Holly Springs, near Corinth, Mississippi, Chewalla and Big Hill, Tennessee.
Monday October 6, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln, disturbed by Major General George B. McClellans’s delays, sent instructions to the general in Maryland through Major General Henry W. Halleck. “The President directs that you cross the Potomac and give battle to the enemy or drive him south. Your enemy must move now and give battle to the enemy or drive him south. Your army must move now while the roads are good,” wrote Halleck.
In Kentucky, Braxton Bragg’s main Confederate force was moving back towards Harrodsburg as Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Federals were after him, occupying Bardstown.
Tuesday October 7, 1862
Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Federal army, on the move in Kentucky against Bragg, neared the village of Perryville, Kentucky. There were skirmishes at Brown Hill and near Perryville.
Where Minnesota Regiments were the week of October 1-7, 1862
1st Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On duty at Harper’s Ferry, western Virginia.
2nd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Marched to Kentucky in pursuit of Braxton Bragg.
3rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – A detachment marched to relief Fort Abercrombie and later rejoined the regiment at Camp Release.
4th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Participated in Battle of Corinth and then joined in the pursuit to Ripley.
5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Companies B, C and D remained in Minnesota and Dakota Territory on garrison duty. A detachment of Company C moved from Fort Ridgely to Fort Ripley. The remaining companies participated in Battle of Corinth and then joined in the pursuit to Ripley.
6th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty at Fort Snelling, Glencoe,Forest City and Kingston until February 1863.
7th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty in Mankato and other points in Minnesota.
8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On frontier duty at various points in Minnesota: Anoka, Princeton, Monticello, Kingston, Manannah, Paynesville, Fort Ripley, Sauk Center, Pomme de Terre, Alexandria and Fort Abercrombie until May 1864.
9th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – On garrison duty in various frontier Minnesota communities.
10th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry – Regiment on detached service for garrison duty at various outposts in frontier Minnesota.
Brackett’s Battalion of Minnesota Cavalry – On duty at Clarksville, Tennessee.
1st Minnesota Light Artillery Battery – Participated in Battle of Corinth and then joined in the pursuit to Ripley.
2nd Independent Battery, Minnesota Light Artillery – March to Kentucky in pursuit of Braxton Bragg.
2nd United States Sharpshooters, Company A – In camp near Sharpsburg, Maryland.
