Hatchie's Bridge
Davis Bridge, Matamora
Civil War Tennessee


American Civil War
October 5, 1862

Major General Earl Van Dorn's Confederate Army of West Tennessee retreated from Corinth on October 4, 1862. Major General William S. Rosecrans did not send forces in pursuit until the morning of the 5th. Major General Edward O.C. Ord, commanding a detachment of the Army of West Tennessee, was, pursuant to orders, advancing on Corinth to assist Rosecrans.

On the night of October 4-5, he camped near Pocahontas. Between 7:30 and 8:00 am the next morning, his force encountered Union Major General Stephen A. Hurlbut's 4th Brigade, Army of West Tennessee, in the Confederates's front. Ord took command of the now-combined Union forces and pushed Van Dorn's advance, Major General Sterling Price's Army of the West, back about five miles to the Hatchie River and across Davis' Bridge.

After accomplishing this, Ord was wounded and Hurlbut assumed command. While Price's men were hotly engaged with Ord's force, Van Dorn's scouts looked for and found another crossing of the Hatchie River. Van Dorn then led his army back to Holly Springs. Ord had forced Price to retreat, but the Confederates escaped capture or destruction. 

Although they should have done so, Rosecrans's army had failed to capture or destroy Van Dorn's force.

Result(s): Union victory

Location: Hardeman County and McNairy County

Campaign: Iuka and Corinth Operations (1862)

Date(s): October 5, 1862

Principal Commanders: Major General Edward O.C. Ord and Major General Stephen A. Hurlbut [US]; Major General Earl Van Dorn [CS]

Forces Engaged: Detachment [US]; Army of the West [CS]

Estimated Casualties: 900 total (US 500; CS 400)


The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth
The strategic implications of the battles of Iuka and Corinth, exploring their impact on the fate of the Northern Mississippi Campaign, the fall of Vicksburg and by extension, the fate of the Confederacy.

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Tennessee in the Civil War
Tennessee in the Civil War

Selected Contemporary Accounts of Military and Other Events, Month by Month
Civil War: Uniforms, US and Confederate Armies, c.1895
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Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.