On Saturday, October 4, 1862, General Earl Van Dorn’s Confederates renewed their assault against General William Rosecrans’ Federals at Corinth, Mississippi. As the estimated 22,000 man Confederate force moved forward, Union artillery swept the field causing heavy casualties, but the Rebels continued onward.
They seized Battery Powell and closed on Battery Robinett, where desperate hand-to-hand fighting ensued. A few Rebels fought their way into downtown Corinth, but the Federals quickly drove them out. A Federal counter attack recaptured Battery Powell and eventually forced Van Dorn’s force into a humiliating, general retreat after suffering more than 4200 casualties. Once the fighting ended, there were no more Confederate attempts to recapture the town, and the Union military used Corinth and her railroads in relative safety for much of the remainder of the war.