ACW: Siege of Corinth - "Crossroads of the Confederacy"

Thanks for watching, if you would like to see more videos like this, please like and subscribe!
JOIN THE COMMUNITY!
/ discord
SUPPORT THE CHANNEL!
/ warhawkyt
Following the bloody yet decisive Federal victory at the Battle of Shiloh on April 6th - 7th, Union Major General Henry Wager Halleck begins formulating a plan for his Department of the Mississippi and its three subordinate armies under Grant, Buell, and Pope to seize Corinth, Mississippi - the “Crossroads of the Confederacy.” If Halleck’s forces can capture this crucial railroad junction - one of the only rail links to the Eastern Theater in the West - it would help secure Union rail lines in the area and cripple the Confederacy’s ability to move troops around the various theaters of war. But the overcautious Halleck soon settles into a siege around Corinth, wishing to avoid repeating the bloodletting of Shiloh and thus allowing Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard time to try and evacuate his forces from the Army of Mississippi out of Corinth before they are surrounded and destroyed.
Music from Flimstro: filmstro.com/music/
Sources:
Corinth 1862: Siege, Battle, Occupation by Timothy B. Smith
Buy Here: amzn.to/3G0kPW3
Script written by J. Woody
#americancivilwar #westerntheater #civilwar

[@DamonNomad82]

Halleck looks like the sort of general who might say "Be vewy quiet! I'm hunting wabbits-I mean, webels!"

[@WarhawkYT]

Lol you’re not wrong

[@MatthewCarmichael-od4yv]

😂 after I seen his picture I can see Almer fud all over it👍

[@mattfaulk8724]

It's easy to judge after the fact. Forethought plays a major roll in Halleck and to make the wrong assumption would cost allot of lives.

[@HenT8991]

I was hoping Epic History TV would do a series on the American Civil War, but I'm happy to see you taking up the burden.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you Hendricks!

[@pinoydataanalyst1705]

​@@WarhawkYT why don't you try a week by week animated series?

[@donchichivagabond1578]

Halleck is the guy arguing on the battlefield about people not being in line to get ammunition while the Zulus are five feet away.

[@571951rhoehn1]

Good reference!

[@pinkmail6841]

@@571951rhoehn1 could you explain?

[@maifa9922]

@@pinkmail6841 the movie isandlwana

[@avenaoat]

In the little serial Grant (by Leonardo di Caprio) they mentioned Grant wanted to fight in Corinth with half strong Confederat troops (during the retreat), but Halleck stopped the fight to afraid the trains brought new conferderat troops. Grant got information from railroad men, who used their ear on the iron railroad to detected the sound of the wagons, which showed emptiness when they arrived to Corinth!

[@zurgesmiecal]

​@@avenaoat yeah sounds like a good idea risking your whole army by trusting some dudes who lay their heads on active railroads

[@christopherjohn5575]

Halleck - I came, I saw, I conquered. Grant - The fuck you you did!

[@JOEHOVA]

great job once again my friends. The western theater is always overlooked mostly, I believe, because of all the Union success there.

[@thoughtfulpug1333]

certainly. LC stuff focuses a lot on Lee and Jackson and their victories in Virginia, because in the West there aren't many major battles the Confederates win a tactical and strategic victory outright; only exceptions I'd say would be Wilson's Creek, Richmond Kentucky, and Chickamauga (though that latter one was lost in the long run because Rosecrans could retreat from the battlefield into Chattanooga's defenses immediately). That said, the channel won't be covering much Western Theater stuff for a while. There's gonna be one more episode on the Fall of New Orleans, then a bunch of videos on the Eastern Theater in Virginia

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks Joe, we're about to head back to the east in a couple of videos but the west will make a return

[@corporalsoletrain2132]

@@thoughtfulpug1333 Also probably because the LCR's "states' rights" malarkey is revealed to be a fraud in the Western Theater. They routinely invade neutral states, round up freed slaves, and conduct intense extortion operations against civilian towns. Really kills off that "Southern Chivalry" garbage.

[@HurricaneRifles]

@@corporalsoletrain2132Sounds rather chivalrous when you compare the Union armies forcibly impressing slaves, starving them, pillaging their cabins, basically all the things worse than they endured under enslavement, not forgetting Grant's persecution of Jews and his later war on the Natives. Yeah, LC mythology isn't nearly as damaging as Righteous Cause mythology.

[@corporalsoletrain2132]

@@HurricaneRifles Hoo boy this is a giant pile of crap. You probably believe Grant was drunk the whole war, too.

[@davidsabolek4630]

Corinth and the Mine Run Campaign were the two great "what if's"of the Civil War

[@michaelnash1067]

Just like Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Neopolian and other military geniuses, Halleck understood battles don't win wars. Battles win metals; tactics win wars

[@ejdotw1]

Another absolutely superb piece of work, thank you! So hope you continue making these, forever!

[@The_Unrepentant_McClellanite]

Quite an excellent episode, as per usual. Only 18 days until Bragg takes command of the army, and once that happens, all shall be absolutely fantastic.

[@WarhawkYT]

Quite Indeed Mr Gilbreath

[@alexpeterson849]

As I reenactor let me say thank you I appreciate all the hard work and research that went into all your videos. I want to see more keep it up 👍.

[@twowheeledwireman282]

Your videos, descriptions, maps, and detail are the best on KZbin. Keep up the great work!!

[@TheMeatCutter]

Man I have watched and rewatched all of your videos.. and I'll be coming back to this one again too. Thank you for all the work!!

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you so much Alex, you're helping us out a ton!

[@garyphillips5820]

Really enjoy the videos which is the first battle you covered so I can watch them in order thank you

[@Michael-ws7rc]

Really well done. You know… I don’t think I have ever in my life seen a documentary on this campaign… I learned a lot.

[@emonokari82]

Great product that just keeps getting better and better. Thanks for all the hard work.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you Wes!

[@alexm.h.8270]

Great Videos, the first channel I found that also cover the small battles of the war. And the middle and west parts of the war. I`m really excited how your video to the battle of Gettysburg will be

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Saw it yesterday, will watch today, and will watch this episode in the future. These videos you can always come back to.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks Jonathan, im glad you enjoyed!

[@micahistory]

bruh you're the first comment under every video. Are you justin y in disguise?

[@jeetjewatspannend]

stumbled onto youre video's today. i have been enjoying them imensly thank you very much! youre doing great work keep it up. one more sub for you

[@bernardopena1601]

Thanks for the video! I'll be visiting Shiloh and Cornith this weekend and needed some info.

[@Rammstein0963.]

Awesome, another Warhawk video. 🙂✌️ Glad to see lesser known battles getting attention, keep it up.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you Justin, we're doing all videos in chronological order, so expect more big and small battles alike!

[@Rammstein0963.]

Exactly, EVERYBODY knows Gettysburg, Bull Run, Antietam, etc... But look around, how many people know Stones River? Or Malvern Hill, or New Orleans? Too few, you're correcting that.

[@sydhendrix4853]

So good man keep these coming

[@mindbomb9341]

Good videos. I really do wish you the best with this.

[@scotttracy9333]

Thank you for the post. I'll have something to watch when I'm on my treadmill later.

[@WarhawkYT]

Running while watching Warhawk, very based.

[@jamesstone9091]

excellent videos, well done sir

[@michaelwaddell3568]

Love this channel so much, I found it a couple weeks ago, love the way you add intensity to your telling. Have you thought about doing a battle of Perryville?

[@rocksthatkill]

Reminder set. Looking forward to this!

[@WarhawkYT]

I hope you enjoy Nick! Quite a different video compared to the rest of our series so far. Its a siege after all!

[@twentyone6225]

Proud to see Corinth getting some attention . If you ever decide to visit try to time it during the Farmington re-enactments in the spring . Otherwise the interpretive center or the town museum at the rail crossing are awesome .

[@opalescencedoll7840]

Great video

[@alexmorris6954]

Haha im in Corinth right now on a western theater tour. I really wish i had time to see everything here. Sure the video will be great!

[@WarhawkYT]

Seems like everybody likes it! We'll be visiting Corinth soon enough!

[@kennethfox1586]

Most excellent channel

[@Sealdeam]

Please do consider talking about the Camden Expedition, it is extremely interesting how Gen.Frederick Steele managed to avoid a major dissaster there despite it being mostly a failure thanks greatly to the blunder that was Banks' Red River Campaign, think Steele and Samuel Curtis got to be two of the most underrated generals of the war.

[@a.N.....]

I play ultimate general civil war while watching these videos and try to play the maps just like the actual battle it's so much fun worth every penny for that game

[@TheFanoren]

Try grand tactician the civil war. Its still in early access and some features aren't there yet, but as someone who's played from day 1, its definitely getting better every patch

[@jerroldbates7015]

Well done!

[@micahistory]

CONGRATULATIONS ON REACHING 1000 SUBS!

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you Micah!

[@micahistory]

@@WarhawkYT no problem

[@brettk9316]

Never even knew about this seige/battle!

[@richardlahan7068]

I have family in Corinth. I've been to Battery Robinette many times.

[@Cyberfender1]

I have never been. Do you think that Gen. Beauregard could have held there, does it look like a good place to defended? Thanks.

[@yankeebrit9399]

Hey dude congratulations on 1000 subs

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you Zachary, first big milestone for us!

[@joshhiebert6663]

Where has this channel been all my life?

[@thesouthernhistorian4153]

Amazing work Question how do you do these they are amazing and I'm sure others would love to do this

[@hunteravent9973]

Commenting as a Corinth native, thank you!

[@WarhawkYT]

No thank you!

[@custerkiller7670]

Can you make a video on Second Bull Run? That battle is nearly completely forgotten and it has such devastating casualties and results.

[@WarhawkYT]

We will get there whenever its up!

[@misterbaker9728]

New to channel. I’m huge into Vietnam and Ww2. Working my way back I guess. Anyways very well done

[@WarhawkYT]

Welcome Baker and thank you!

[@FieldMarshalYT]

Couldnt get the stream yesterday was so sad, but now I get to see it.

[@WarhawkYT]

No worries gamer, atleast you get to see it now!

[@micahistory]

this was streamed?

[@ramona14220]

Halleck didn't believe Pope and later in the war Pope didn't believe Porter. Ironic.

[@DarkFilmDirector]

Both Halleck on the Union side and Beauregard on the Confederate side received criticism for their performance at Corinth, but in truth, the situation on the ground was exceptionally bad. The bitter winter of 1861-1862 gave way to a torrentially wet and humid spring in 1862, probably an El Nino weather pattern year when the tropics bring near constant rain in the southern parts of the US. The huge concentration of men in such a small geographic area, herded into trench works, drinking water polluted from swollen creeks and contaminated wells, with the bodies of recently dead and buildings full of wounded, led to a massive outbreak of dysentery (or cholera) and typhus in the tick infested thickets. Both the federal army and the confederate army were so severely weakened by disease and thirst for good water that neither side was physically or psychologically up for a repeat of Shiloh at Corinth. Instead they were content to just deal probing attacks/counterattacks. My 3rd great grandfather in the 22nd MS was part of Bragg's attack on Pope at the Battle of Farmington May 3rd. On May 25th, just days before the Confederate withdrawal, my ancestor's brother William C Johnston died of dysentery and is buried in the mass grave trenches. Many of these trench works are still present in the farms and woods around the city of Corinth today. There are many great details in the commentary book "Soldiering for Glory: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Frank Schaller, Twenty-Second Mississippi Infantry" that describe the conditions at both Shiloh and Corinth. It was written by the commander of the 22nd MS, who was a Prussian-born German professional soldier and veteran of the French army in the Crimean War.

[@gallusinasinum4740]

I am french wive a yankees of north because i hâte the confedere racist. Vive la vrance vive les usa

[@patriciareynolds2729]

Ed here, we are still flooding in spring.my grandad fought and lived thru the Fallen Timbers retreat to Corinth. still several family here since grandad had two wives and another grandad had 8 children. must have been hard times!

[@enalb5085]

you should make a playlist of every battle in chronological order

[@WarhawkYT]

i have one

[@thomaslinton5765]

Didn't take much to fool Halleck. No" x" in "escape."

[@rc59191]

You and civil war week by week need hundreds of thousands of subscribers it's always the boring ones that act like snobs and condescending that get the attention keep doing what you're doing your content is awesome.

[@WarhawkYT]

I hope so bro, we'll keep chugging along no matter how many people are subscribed to us!

[@drfuhque]

Are you just gonna do the whole Civil War? Because if so that’s awesome

[@WarhawkYT]

That's the plan, all semi major and major battles ;)

[@joshhiebert6663]

@@WarhawkYT you're doing the Lord's work 👍

[@drfuhque]

Yeah! General Frémont!

[@illinoismotionpicturestudi5065]

Would you consider doing a video about the battle of Mobile Bay or Olustee in the future? Those are the two Civil War battles I find the most fasanting. Really fantastic work, I just got done watching the Pea Ridge video you made and I was blown away. Whenever I read about it was usually just glossed over in Civil War books, I had no idea it was such a huge battle. I look forward to watching this one about Corinth.

[@Thisandthat8908]

it's worth comparing the achievements of Halleck and Grant :)

[@Chris-oi2ew]

Hey Warhawk! What’s the music you use in the beginning of these videos? For the quotes.

[@Thomas_Name]

Gotta hand it to Beauregard, that was a genius escape 😂 Though he did give up the city. But he had no hope of winning with the state his army was in. Good call to save his men IMO

[@johnford5568]

What if Beauregard had kept pressing into the night day one at Shiloh?

[@RedSkittlez]

It’s weird that this just popped up on my recommended because I live in Corinth 😂

[@mrme8521]

So basically Lincoln saw in Grant from his distant post in DC what Halleck couldn't see in plain sight right in front of him 🤦🏿‍♂️

[@bz1mm]

Great video as always!

[@WarhawkYT]

Thank you Ben "Collector" Zimmerman!

[@The_Unrepentant_McClellanite]

Chickamogus

[@bz1mm]

@@WarhawkYT No problem Saris “Gamer” saris

[@GregoryGeilman]

Hallock was an idiot and let them get away. Grant kept trying to get him to attack and that they were withdrawing but Hallock would not listen. Sure, he took Corinth, but the victory was hollow as the Confederate army lived to fight another day.

[@thoughtfulpug1333]

I guess Sherman was an Idiot for letting Hood escape Atlanta after Jonesboro. That just made Atlanta and the March to the Sea such a total Union defeat /s. Yeah, I personally believe more in the theory of strategic points than focusing on the armies. Even if the Union forces got into a major battle with Beauregard, they had fuck all in terms of organized cavalry to follow up and pursue the fleeing Confederate forces. Getting into a battle would have done nothing but add casualties. In this case, Halleck was able to take the city without major casualties. That is a victory to me.

[@jackson7516]

Can you do the battle of Bentonville rarely talked about but pretty important to the end of the ACW.

[@WarhawkYT]

we will when we get there!

[@davidlambert3892]

I noticed a misspelling on the map at around 8 minutes or so. The town of Mickey is misspelled. It is actually spelled Michie. I know because I have an uncle that lives there and I've visited him there more than once.

[@1987palerider]

I'm sure a lot of you subscribed to the channel have already done so; but if not, I would *highly* recommend reading "Nothing by Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861-1865" by Steven Woodworth

[@Shadowman4710]

An excellent book.

[@JohnSmith-zv8km]

Goes to show that objectives need to be clear, just taking Corinth can be seen as only half of what was needed. Taking it with its guns and supplies would have been a much bigger result and might have been achieved without a battle by closing the railways as was done at Richmond.

[@blakelester1776]

I appreciate the work you’re putting into to these videos... If I have one critique it would be the narration seems robotic and disjointed at times. I know you are recording one phrase at a time... I don’t mean to be disparaging on your work. I don’t have the ability to do it, and I’m sure it takes a lot of time and effort... I hope your channel grows and grows. I’d offer to narrate for free. I think you’re doing a great thing breaking down the campaigns and smaller battles to give a more in-depth view of the war.

[@johnkeviljr9625]

I truly enjoy your presentations. But why don't we see the so-familiar Stars and Bars images next to the leaders? It's OK to use them.

[@WarhawkYT]

unless they are using their own designed flag, the CSA general are using the stars and bars

[@WarhawkYT]

are you thinking of the battle flag? the battle cross

[@shannon090309]

wow shiloh road

[@toxicshadow3498]

Let’s gooo

[@WarhawkYT]

LESS GOO

[@MathewRenfro]

i.e. stop #14 of 52 on the road to Appomattox.

[@jonathansloane702]

Halleck's advance on Corinth was slower than McClellan's advance up the Peninsula yet Lincoln chose to castigate McClellan for having the slows. Capturing Corinth and allowing the Army of the Mississippi to escape was a fruitless victory upon which Halleck then surrendered the initiative. Lincoln withholding support from McClellan to chase after Stonewall Jackson in the Valley was a military blunder for which Lincoln shifted the blame to McClellan. Inserting Halleck as General-in-Chief was another blunder, as well as bringing Pope east to take control of the army from McClellan. Removing the AoP from the James River was another blunder. Two years later it would take Grant 60,000 casualties to get back to the James River. Lincoln was a cluster-flop as a military strategist.

[@CapitalShill]

The objective of Grant’s Overland Campaign was not to reach the James River, but to exhaust the Army of Northern Virginia. Ben Butler landed his Army of the James along the James with virtually no casualties. Any commander of the Army of the Potomac could have replicated McClellan’s achievement at virtually any time they desired.

[@jonathansloane702]

@@CapitalShill Your comment misses my point and yet proves it. Grant's original idea was to follow McClellan's idea of moving south of the James and investing Richmond's communications. Lincoln rejected this approach as it would have validated McClellan's 1862 strategy, McClellan being Lincoln's likely and eventual presidential opponent, forcing Grant into the direct, overland approach. In the event, the constant attrition over 40 days rendered Grant's army exhausted and ineffective, not the ANV.

[@CapitalShill]

@@jonathansloane702 I guess I forgot which army was pinned into static defenses outside their capital and then surrendered.

[@jonathansloane702]

@@CapitalShill Another comment that misses the point. The same result could have been obtained two years earlier had Lincoln not blundered away the opportunity.

[@CapitalShill]

@@jonathansloane702 “could have.”

[@davidnewcomb2431]

So Tennessee had some command under Gen. Ulysses s Grant???

[@alexG106]

Let's be real: local Confederate strategy at this point *should* have been to ambush a separated portion of the Federal army as it marched through difficult terrain and weather, while having a tenuous supply line. Halleck's strategy of field fortifications would have mitigated this strategy but it turned out that he was playing chess by himself while the Western Confederate Command were still trying to figure what checkers was.

[@Brslld]

Strategy was not in the confederate vocabulary

[@thomaslinton5765]

Halleck had a constant problem with foggy brain.

[@MatthewCarmichael-od4yv]

Helleck and Grant did not get along to well. Do you know where their animosity began?

[@patriciareynolds2729]

mickey on map is michie.

[@bryanwiedeman3154]

WHO....WHO...WHO... Andersonville every morning....cheers

[@WarhawkYT]

cheers Bryan

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

If Sidney Johnston had lived then this might have been VERY different

[@arailway8809]

There are slashing generals, and there are plodding generals. Halleck was a plodder.

[@jameskilcoyne1955]

1864 Red River Campaign. I can assist. I conduct tours of the battle sites, know all the roads and out-of-the-way places. Be happy to assist in producing a video of the campaign.

[@marshalney6150]

A video on Mansfield would be awesome one of the most overlooked and bloodiest for its size battles of the war

[@michaelmccabe3079]

Where's your accent from? It doesn't sound like any particular region in the Anglosphere.

[@WarhawkYT]

Born and raised in Texas

[@michaelmccabe3079]

@@WarhawkYT Definitely not a Texas accent, though. O.o

[@WarhawkYT]

@@michaelmccabe3079 I'm using audacity modifiers

[@icant7073]

I'm not even American and here I am watching the Civil war and history of other country.

[@donchichivagabond1578]

Oh yeah, get land while the enemy can still fight. Why is Halleck considered as a great general?

[@neilpemberton5523]

I don't know if he is. Lincoln ended up saying Halleck was a "first rate clerk". Union victories after he was tapped to be General-in-Chief were due to Grant being given his head at Vicksburg, Meade's moral courage at Gettysburg, Rosecrans' effectiveness until Chickamauga, and Jefferson Davis's inability to prevent the slow unravelling of the Army of Tennessee's leadership under Bragg. Once Grant became General-in-Chief Halleck's talents as a paper shuffler kept him in Washington. No historian really rates him as fighting general.

[@Shadowman4710]

Nobody really considers Halleck to be a great general. He certainly had his talents. He was a first class administrator and a master of army politics and a fairly solid strategist. One thing that he managed to do is promote officers who owed him favors and were in his circle.

[@thomaslinton5765]

"U LIS' EES" - his midddle name. Famounsly, he was Hiram Ulysses Grant . Hating "Hiram," he identified himself falsely as "Uylesses Grant, and preferred to be called "Sam." "Free' mont" NOT" Free mont'.

[@FreedomFox1]

These videos are exceptional. It’s mystifying to me that the algorithm obviously hasn’t been promoting them as much as comparable videos on other channels. Perhaps the channel is still too young or maybe there’s a bias against US history? Regardless, you are making content that’s really something to be proud of.

[@SN-xk2rl]

Halleck speaks about Grant with the jealousy of a paper pusher with the neurotic personality to be able to handle copious volumes of administrative staff work but with no knack for and even less genuine talent at tactics, operations, campaigning, and simple leadership - all of which Grant stood as one of the top-5 in the entire war (on either side). "Grant" the butcher is a plainly false lie - no more true of Grant overall due to CH than true of Lee overall due to the 7 Days campaign.

[@shannon090309]

this is weird bc i live in the this city

[@longdongg3884]

I WANT TO SEE ROBERT E LEE VIDEOS

[@WarhawkYT]

Soon, Long Dongg38, soon.

[@boonedockjourneyman7979]

Inappropriate focus on personality and politics. Neither mattered.

[@janandersen8735]

Did anyone in the South recognize that they could not win the overall war in the west, but only by taking Washington? What if they had moved the forces out of the west and made a maximum effort against Washington.

[@nathanbot5373]

It’s no mahan, it’s mahan

[@donchichivagabond1578]

Halleck was so reactive. Pitiful.

[@the_cappybara]

Based and redpilled

[@FieldMarshalYT]

Based and Lincolnpilled.

[@the_cappybara]

@@FieldMarshalYT that's unionist talk!

[@FieldMarshalYT]

@@the_cappybara Ah, SECESH 1v1 me War of Rights n00ba.

[@rc59191]

@@the_cappybara Sons of Union Civil War Veterans member here to say don't make us come down there again.

[@the_cappybara]

@@FieldMarshalYT Have at thee nave. There is a reason, The Cappy is one of the best pubbie officers alongside Remedy and Oliford.

[@robertpayne2717]

It is pronounced as Co- Rinthn not as Cornith

[@twentyone6225]

Corinth natives pronounce it as Car rinth

[@thomaslinton5765]

A LISTING OF MEDIOCRE GENERALS IS NOT A LIST OF "IMPRESSIVE TALENT."

[@manuelllanes354]

Halleck a good logistic General but a bad tactical general bordering cowardice.

[@blakeread6537]

If Nathaniel Bedford Forrest had been present,would only be complete Confederate victory

[@taffyducks544]

If you say so!

[@blakeread6537]

May God continue to bless and strengthen this free Confederate Republic. God strenghthen us to rise again. 4th Alabama.

[@Spiderfisch]

Kinda ironic how you want it to be free while its goal was to preserve slavery

[@blakeread6537]

@@Spiderfisch your wrong. Most all wars are fought over economics. Slavery was being abolished with or without a war. You will understand when you witness our rise and return to power.

[@Shadowman4710]

ROFLMAO. More Neo-Confederate nonsense.

[@savanahmclary4465]

How much gold and silver and wealth did the Union Army steal here? It had to been a Southern Commerce hub.

[@boosie1926]

If Nathan Bedford Forrest was there I think it would’ve been a lot different