After Confederate General saw that Shiloh was lost he beat a fast retreat to Corinth Mississippi. Halleck, now commanding a huge force decided that safety was more important than speed. Between logistical problems and his insistence that each day's march would end with an entrenchment, his progress to Corinth was slow indeed, but safe.
Under the cover of darkness, Confederate forces evacuated Corinth, Mississippi. As a result Halleck was able to break the Memphis and Charleston railway.
Major General Albert S. Sidney was killed on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Union General Halleck took over the armies of general grant and Buell and pursued the Rebels to Corinth. On May 30, 1862, the Rebels abandoned Corinth to Halleck.
Union General Henry Halleck had amassed an army of over 100,000 troops in his pursuit to capture or destroy Confederate troops under the command of General Beauregard which were positioned at Corinth, Mississippi. He would then be two states deep into Confederate territory. With his base of supply on the Tennessee River he faced a problem. In order to keep his supply lines open for his large army, he could not rely on a river or a railway. Instead he corduroyed off miles of roadways. This took extra time and benefited the Confederates at Corinth.
On June 10, 1862, Major General Buell left Corinth Mississippi and marched his army towards Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was following the orders of Major General Halleck.
Union General Henry Halleck's immediate objective was to keep troops guarding the Memphis-Charleston railway. Also, to clean up Souther guerrilla activities in Northern Mississippi and Western Tennessee.He believed that trying to follow Confederate General Beauregard into the swamps of Mississippi would be a bad idea. Also, he believed the Beauregard's troops had nowhere to go being locked into an area with no railway lines or waterways.
General Beauregard had escaped to Corinth after the Battle of Shiloh. When he was forced to evacuate the city, Union General Henry Halleck was able to achieve one of his primary goals in Mississippi, which was breaking up the Memphis and Charleston railway.
Under the cover of darkness, Confederate forces evacuated Corinth, Mississippi. As a result Halleck was able to break the Memphis and Charleston railway.
Major General Albert S. Sidney was killed on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Union General Halleck took over the armies of general grant and Buell and pursued the Rebels to Corinth. On May 30, 1862, the Rebels abandoned Corinth to Halleck.
Major General Henry W. Halleck pursued General PT Beauregard to Corinth, Mississippi after the Battle of Shiloh. Halleck had taken personal control of the armies of Buell and Grant. At Corinth, the Rebels were outnumbered by a two to one margin, and under the cover of night evacuated the city.
Union General Henry Halleck had amassed an army of over 100,000 troops in his pursuit to capture or destroy Confederate troops under the command of General Beauregard which were positioned at Corinth, Mississippi. He would then be two states deep into Confederate territory. With his base of supply on the Tennessee River he faced a problem. In order to keep his supply lines open for his large army, he could not rely on a river or a railway. Instead he corduroyed off miles of roadways. This took extra time and benefited the Confederates at Corinth.
On June 10, 1862, Major General Buell left Corinth Mississippi and marched his army towards Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was following the orders of Major General Halleck.
The city of Corinth, Mississippi lies in the northeast part of Mississippi just below the border with Tennessee. Having captured it, the army of General Halleck had control of the Memphis and Charleston railway. It was a success for Halleck, who took weeks to reach Corinth, this was too much time. His siege would the city was to capture or destroy the army of Confederate Beauregard, but he slipped quietly and cleverly away, heading directly south to Tupelo.
Confederate General Kirby Smith lowered the Confederate flag in the Trans-Mississippi on May 26, 1865.
Confederate President Jefferson Davis was disappointed when General Beauregard abandoned Corinth. He was replaced by Braxton Bragg. Here Davis misunderstood the situation. Beauregard was totally outnumbered. He wanted to avoid a siege on Corinth. With a clever move, he led Union General Henry Halleck to believe that Corinth was fortified and would receive reinforcements. Using logs painted black, and hats to make it seem the Confederates were still in Corinth, Beauregard avoided a disaster by sneaking out of Corinth and moved south to Tupelo.
It marked the end of Confederate ascendancy in Western Tennessee, and saw the mortal wounding of Confederate General Sidney Johnston, rated as the best General in America.IMPROVEMENTsoon after Shiloh the Federals carried on their advance southward to capture Corinth, which was then abandoned by the Confederates, thus extending the control of the Mississippi River to the height of Memphis in cooperation with the Union gunboatsRead more: Was_battle_of_Shiloh_a_union_victory
Supply limitations played a key role in Confederate General Beauregard's decision to evacuate Corinth in 1862. Despite the displeasure of Confederate President Jefferson's dismay over this, Beauregard saved his army. He had no choice and managed to fool Union General Henry Halleck. Beauregard knew he was vastly outnumbered by Hallek's forces of about 100,000 men. A siege would have been a disaster. Beauregard took up a position 50 miles south in an easier place to put up a defense. The details are these:* Hallecks scouts believed that Corinth was bing reinforced due to the blair of horns and the sounds of trains;* Loud cheers orchestrated by Beauregard made it seem that help was on the way or there already;* Soon after Halleck's heavy cannons blasted away at Confederate lines;* Halleck was surprised that there was no return fire from the enemy;* Confederate cannons were seen along with the hats of Confederate soldiers, they were scarecrows;* Citizens of Corinth set out a white flag of surrender;* Beauregard's camp was empty, logs with painted black "muzzles" fooled Halleck;* The trains supposedly bringing in Confederate reinforcements were actually trains moving soldiers out of Corinth;Beauregard successfully saved his army to fight another day by fooling Halleck. Of course, Corinth was a valuable place, now given over to Union forces.
For months, Union General Henry Wager Halleck had achieved his goal of breaking the railway called the Memphis and Charleston. From the Southern point of view this was bad news. At one time the former Confederate Secretary of War Walker declared that this very railroad was the backbone of the South. Perhaps that was a bit exaggerated.