The Darkest Days of the War- the Battles of Iuka and Corinth

People have asked me why I chose to write on the relatively obscure
northern Mississippi campaign that culminated in the Battle of Corinth, on
October 3-4, 1862.1 tell them I selected this topic precisely because of its
obscurity, which derives solely from a want of scholarly attention—the
campaign itself was far from unimportant.
Glance at any map of the Confederacy depicting its railroads, and your
eye is naturally drawn to Corinth. It stood at the junction of two of the
best railroads in the South. Take and hold Corinth, and Union armies
would sever the most viable Confederate line of communications and
supply between the eastern seaboard and the vast trans-Mississippi region.
Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck recognized this, and he counted the capture of
Corinth more important than the destruction of the Confederate western
armies.