Battery F site, Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park
CORINTH CIVIL WAR DRIVING TOUR STOP 2
The field where Battery F once resided during the fighting at Corinth is marked with a National Park Service sign and contains two information panels that give its history. It is located on Bitner Road near the intersection with Scenic Lake Drive in Corinth, Mississippi. Parking is along the road.
When the Confederates retreated from Shiloh and regrouped in Corinth, they dug defensive trenches (aka earthworks) north and east of the town to protect against an attack coming from that direction. Union forces under the command of General Henry Halleck eventually marched on Corinth, and after a month long siege that ran from late April until May 30, 1862, the Confederates abandoned Corinth and retreated south. Union troops occupied the city the next day.
The Union now had to defend Corinth from a possible Confederate attack that would most likely come from the south. However, there were no defenses west or south of the town, so they commenced building a series of six batteries (named Battery A through F) to help ward off an attack from that direction. Batteries were earthen forts defended with the help of artillery. Battery F, which held five cannon, was one of these forts.
Once completed, the Union built seven more batteries a half mile from the town center, forming an inner circle of defense. These guarded the northern, southern, and western approaches to Corinth.
Location of Union batteries at Corinth (map rotated to North-South direction)
When the Confederates attacked on October 3, 1862, they maneuvered around to the north, flanking the Union batteries. Despite the existence of the defensive trenches built by the Confederates, the Union never anticipated an attack from the north and therefore never adequately manned them. Even if they had wanted to, the trenches were so sprawling that they would not have had enough troops to man them effectively. Battery F, set up to defend against an attack from the opposite direction, would have easily been overrun, so in the face of the oncoming Confederates, Union soldiers occupying the fort abandoned it and withdrew back towards Corinth.
October 3, 1862, Battle of Corinth map
Next Tour Stop | Corinth Civil War Driving Tour
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Last updated on February 3, 2022
