Sunday, November 20, 2011

Finally ... The Siege of Corinth

At last, a major work concerning the 1862 "Siege" of Corinth is in the offing. Although from the title, Corinth 1862: Siege, Battle, Occupation (Univ Pr of Kansas, May 2012), it certainly looks like Smith is going for a broader look, 472 pages should afford enough space for a decent history of the siege operation.

5 comments:

  1. Hello Drew

    Thanks for the update. If this is anything like the author's Champion Hill title, then it will be a great read.

    Don Hallstrom

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  2. I've was in touch with Tim about his Corinth project a year or so ago after I inquired about it. I am well into working on a comprehensive tactical study of the siege, so I was curious as to how detailed he gets.

    Tim told me that the book will deal with Corinth during the entire war, but focus heavily on the important year of 1862. His work on the siege will be the most detailed we have to date - he covers all of the actions of the siege and dives into a little more detail when dealing with Farmington on May 9th. Apparently there is about 150 or so pages on the siege. He flat out said, however, that the siege component to the book will not be as detailed as Champion Hill - that his sources are too few to actually get that detailed. He told me that most of the siege components are brigade and division level analysis. Even still, this is by far the most detailed we have ever gotten on the siege, and I am thrilled Tim has done this!

    He told me that the Battle of Corinth in October he treats with greater detail, and so I am looking forward to his study building upon Cozzens' great work from years ago. Not sure exactly if the detail for the Battle of Corinth will match Champion Hill, but I guess we'll see in May.

    Chris Slocombe

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  3. Thanks for writing, Chris. Smith's Corinth project has been brewing for a lot time. I remember corresponding with him around 1999 when I was working on my Corinth computer simulation, and am glad to see it finally coming to fruition.

    About your own work, are you planning to turn your siege study into a book?

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  4. Hi Drew,

    Thanks for posting my comment about Tim's book. It should be great when it finally comes out. I had the same reaction you did - "finally!" Tim also said that he does a lot with the post battle occupation of Corinth, so that should be very interesting.

    My own work - yes I do plan on turning it into a book, although I am still several years away from that happening. I am ending the research phase now (which in itself has taken many years). When I do finish it will be a tactical look at the siege - small skirmishes and all. I've found too that the siege was more influential in shaping Union soldier attitudes toward the war effort than we (or at least I) previously thought.

    Until you posted on Tim's book I wasn't sure when it would be out. May 2012 is actually earlier than I had assumed. So thanks for the early Christmas gift!

    Chris Slocombe
    christopherslocombe@gmail.com

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  5. Looks interesting. Cozzens' work is one of my favorite looks at the vicious battle that took place there.

    Also, John Pope's fascinating account of the march and 'siege' of Corinth is slightly comical in its depiction of Halleck and definitely whetted my appetite to read a more detailed account of the whole strange operation. I mean throwing up detailed fortifications at every stop. It must have been something to see.

    Chris

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