Battle of Hatchie's Bridge

The Battle of Hatchie's Bridge, also known as Battle of Davis Bridge or Matamora, was fought on October 5, 1862, in Hardeman County and McNairy County, Tennessee, as the final engagement of the Iuka–Corinth Campaign of the American Civil War. Confederate Major General Earl Van Dorn's army successfully evaded capture by the Union Army, following his defeat at the Battle of Corinth.

Battle of Hatchie Bridge
Part of American Civil War

Second phase of the Iuka–Corinth Campaign
DateOctober 5, 1862 (1862-10-05)
Location
Hardeman County and McNairy County, Tennessee
Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union) CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
Edward O. C. Ord
Stephen A. Hurlbut		 Earl Van Dorn
Sterling Price
Units involved
District of Jackson
(3 brigades)		 Army of the West
Casualties and losses
500 400

Van Dorn's (Confederate) Army of Tennessee retreated from Corinth, Mississippi, on October 4, 1862, but Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans did not send forces in pursuit until the morning of October 5. Maj. Gen. Edward O.C. Ord, commanding a detachment of Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the 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 a.m. the next morning, his force encountered Union Maj. Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut's 4th Division, District of Jackson, in the Confederates’ front. Ord took command of the now-combined Union forces and pushed Van Dorn's advanced element, Maj. Gen. Sterling Price's Army of the West, back about five miles to the Hatchie River and across Davis's Bridge. After accomplishing this, Ord was wounded in the ankle 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. Grant ordered Rosecrans to abandon the pursuit. 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.[1][2][3]

Order of battle

Union
District of Jackson – Major General Edward O. C. Ord (w)

Hatchie's Bridge: Union Order of Battle[4]
Division Brigade Regiments and Others

4th Division
     MG Stephen A. Hurlbut

 Cavalry Escort
1st Brigade


   BG Jacob G. Lauman
2nd Brigade


   BG James C. Veatch
Provisional Brigade


   Col Robert K. Scott

Confederate
Army of the West – Major General Earl Van Dorn

Price's Corps – Major General Sterling Price

Battlefield
Davis Bridge Battlefield
Nearest cityPocahontas, Tennessee
Coordinates35°1′51″N 88°47′44″W
Built1862
MPSArcheological Resources of the American Civil War in Tennessee MPS
NRHP reference No.97001549[5]
Added to NRHPJuly 13, 1998

The battlefield site, known as Davis Bridge Battlefield, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. A 5-acre (20,000 m2) area of the battlefield is part of the Siege and Battle of Corinth Sites, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1991. The total battlefield area deemed potentially eligible for the National Register is 5,103 acres (2,065 ha), of which 861.5 acres (348.6 ha) has protected status.[6] The Civil War Trust (a division of the American Battlefield Trust) and its partners have acquired and preserved 859 acres (3.48 km2) of the battlefield.[7]

References
  1. National Park Service battle description Archived September 21, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  2. "Davis Bridge Battlefield Page: Battle maps, photos, history articles, and battlefield news (CWPT)". Archived from the original on 2010-03-02. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
  3. Smith, Timothy B. Battle of Davis Bridge (October 5, 1862), Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
  4. Cozzens, Peter (1997). The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0-8078-5783-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  6. Update to the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission Report on the Nation's Civil War Battlefields, pp. 79-81
  7. American Battlefield Trust "Saved Land" webpage. Accessed May 25, 2018.


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