1/21/05 Deep in the muck in Corinth
Mike Ventura
Valet to Gen'l Moore
The Command Staffs of the First Federal and First Confederate
Divisions toured the event site on Saturday, January 15, 2005.
All in attendance were very impressed with the site. Gently rolling
hills crossed with a couple of small creeks. Several wooded areas
with hardwoods and almost no udergrowth. The open ground has been
used as a cattle pasture and is of low grass with virtually no
rocks or holes. The battle(s) site is wide and open and a hill
rising to the rear separated by a barbed wire fence will serve
as the spectator area. The site contains at least two (that we
have discovered) series of original fortifications from 1862,
part of the Confederate outer peimeter defense built by Beauregard
in April of '62 and some Federal trench lines constructed by Halleck
in the summer of '62. The site is approx. 2 miles due north of
the town of Corinth. State Line Road, separating Tennessee and
Mississippi is the southern boundry of the site, so the camp is
actually in Tennessee.
The only downside is that the site, currently a cattle
farm in an agricultural area, is immediately served by a series
of two lane country roads. Travel to the site is about a mile
or mile and a half on these country roads from the modern 4 lane
highway. A traffic plan utilizing one way traffic flow as well
as separate Confederate and Federal check in, entrances and parking
should alleviate most of the potential traffic problems.
Federal and Confederate camps will be at opposite ends of
a diagonal drawn through a large rectangle. The Federal camp is
nearest the main entrance to the site. This is because the Federals
were in garrison in the Town of Corinth and were attacked by the
Confederates. Therefore, elements of the Federal Army will make
camp behind the works. Near the works (battle area) is the sutler
area and spectator area. Federal Cav will camp behind the Federal
infantry.
An adjacent site of 106 acres separated from the main site
by a large farm will be used for Federal Authentic and Campaigner
camps. This site is served by a dirt road off the main road of
about 1/3 mile in length. There are open fields and wooded areas
in the Federal Authentic / Campaigner area.
The Confderate Camp will be located on the far side of
a large wooded area that separates the CS camp from the Federal
works. This is in the NE corner of the site. It is about 1 mile
or so between the camps as the crow flies. A little longer on
on the path through the woods between the two. This is historically
accurate as the Confderates marched two days and attacked Corinth,
coming out of the woods to form lines of battle. Two large flat
fields and some very nice woods provide excellent camping spots.
A large pond is located near the center of the CS area, and another
large flat field to be used for drill is adjacent.
Federal and Confederate cavalry MAY assemble off site and work
their way towards the camps, much as the two armies' cavalry forces
probed and looked for each other in late September '62. We're
still looking for routes and access to do this.
The battle scenarios include:
Friday afternoon (late): Battle of Iuka
Saturday Morning: Oliver & McArthur Make First Contact
(prior to spectator admission).
Saturday 3:00PM: Fight for Battery Powell and Confederate Breakthrough
into Corinth
Sunday 1PM: Fight for Battery Robinette and Confederate Repulse
Sutlers: The NSA has worked diligently to improve goods sold
by sutlers at this and future NSA events. Sutler participation
is by invitation only. Most of the approved vendors on the AC
list were either extended an invitation or called to see if they
were interested in participating. All sutlers that were present
at Franklin were graded by a group of "secret shoppers."
80% of the sutlers at Franklin WILL NOT be asked to come to Corinth.
Sutler participation will be limited to about 30 sutlers. Modern
food vendors will be separated from the sutler area, and will
be placed in the specatator area. All troops will have time and
are encouraged to visit the sutlers. IF YOU WANT THE BEST SUTLERS
AT YOUR EVENTS, YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE FOR
THEM TO COME. To do this, you buy stuff from them. If they don't
do enough business, they won't be back.
Preservation: We are discussing a unique fundraising opportunity
with the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). This will be annoounced
in the future. A significant donation for preservation will be
made to the Verandah Curlee House in Corinth. This house was built
in 1857 and at one time or another, served as headquarters for
Generals Bragg, Halleck, Dodge, Hood and Van Dorn. Albert Sidney
Johnson wrote Order #8 initiating the Battle of Shiloh in General
Bragg's room in this house. The hose is in desperate need of some
repairs.
www.curleehouse.org
Work Days: Work days will be scheduled and we hope that we get
a good turnout. We are building full scale batteries for the battle
scenarios.
Registration: Registration fee will be $12 until September
1, 2005; $20 between September 1 and 15 and closed as of September
15, 2005.
Web Site: We hope to have the web site up sometime around February
1, 2005. There weill be a link off the NSA site at nsalliance.org
History: Not a lot has been written about the Battle of Corinth.
Strange, as this was a significant battle in the western theater.
Two excellent sources:
"The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth"
by Peter Cozzens
Blue Magazine's Summer 2002 issue "Corinth & Iuka."
General Info: Corinth is located in NE Mississippi just
two miles below the Tennessee State Line. It is 93 miles east
of Memphis and 33 miles west of the Alabama State Line on US 72.
Corinth is 22 miles from Shiloh National Military Park and less
than 30 miles from the site of the Battle of Iuka. Just last year,
the National Park Service opened a new $26 million dollar Battle
and Seige of Corinth Interpretive Cenetr located on the site of
Battery Robinette. It is definately a "must see" as
are the Curlee House and the National Cemetary. Many of the batteries,
redoubts and earthworks constructed by both armies in 1862 are
still visible. The "General's Tour" in the Summer 2002
issue of Blue & Gray Magazine or the tour map put out by the
Seige and Battle of Corinth Commission are excellent resources.
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