Corinth & Alcorn County

Community Guide

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12 Corinth - the mere sound of its name echoes its importance. Named for the great crossroads of Greece, this small town, which was formally founded in 1855, has risen to its own place in history. It all began when the Memphis and Charleston and Mobile and Ohio Railroads were surveyed to intersect just south of the Tennessee/Mississippi State line. With this crossing, the small settlement known as Cross City blossomed into a thriving town. Only a few months later, the editor of the local newspaper suggested that the original name no longer befit the growing city. The name was changed to Corinth with the stipulation that, should they not like it, the citizens could change it back in a year. Obviously, the name stuck. Corinth prospered throughout the rest of the 1850s, but with the coming of the Civil War, the importance of the railroad crossings could not be overlooked by either side. Early in the war, Corinth was an assembly point for Confederate soldiers, and in the spring of 1862, it became the focal point in the War's Western Theatre. In early April 1862, the Confederates, under the leadership of General Albert Sidney Johnston, took the offensive; left Corinth (the anchor of defense for the lower south); and made a surprise attack on the Federals under Ulysses S. Grant at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, approximately twenty-two miles northeast of Corinth. This attack known as the Battle of Shiloh cost Johnston his life. " " The fighting that took place on October 4 th gave the Battle of Corinth the reputation of being the bloodiest in Mississippi.

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