1862

July 16: Ida B. Wells-Barnett born in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

April 6-7: The Battle of Shiloh, the first major battle in the Civil War's western theater, takes place near Pittsburgh Landing on the Tennessee River a few miles north of Corinth, Mississippi. Despite overwhelming casualties on both sides, the Union under General Ulysses S. Grant is victorious. Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston is killed during the battle. As a result of the battle, Confederate forces, now under the command General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, retreat to Corinth, but being pursued by the Union forces and outnumbered two to one, they retreat to Tupelo, where Beauregard is replaced by General Braxton Bragg. The Union forces, now under the command of William Starke Rosecrans, make their headquarters at Corinth.

Mississippi Department of Archives and History The Battle of Corinth occurred between October 3 and 4, 1862.

October 3-4: General Earl Van Dorn, who had joined Beauregard's troops at Corinth, tries to recapture Corinth from the Union forces in the Battle of Corinth, but he is repulsed.