Hatchie's Bridge TN007
1862-10-05 to 1862-10-05 · TN · Iuka and Corinth Operations [September-October 1862] · frozen result: Union · NPS summary (as listed)
Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn's Confederate Army of West Tennessee retreated from Corinth on October 4, 1862. Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans did not send forces in pursuit until the morning of the 5th. Maj. Gen. 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 Maj. Gen. 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, Maj. Gen. 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.
Command responsibility (ledger v2)
US: Edward O.C. Ord
Grade A under rule 3a; echelon detachment_or_post. command_changedsuperior_directing
Other candidates: Stephen A. Hurlbut
Both listed major generals. Ord "took command of the now-combined Union forces" and pushed Van Dorn's advance; he was wounded and Hurlbut assumed command (rule 3(a); rule 4). Hurlbut's brigade had met Ord's column in the Confederates' front before the combined attack. Grant ordered the interception (superior_directing: Grant). NPS leaves open whether Hurlbut's force skirmished before Ord took command.
Major Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN007, belligerent US, fullname Edward O.C. Ord; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…Major Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN007, belligerent US, fullname Stephen A. Hurlbut; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…On the fol- lowing morning Ord arrived and took command of this column.greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1 · snapshot
a53e111410ce…Confederate: Earl Van Dorn
Grade A under rule 2; echelon army.
A cited passage states the command.
Major Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN007, belligerent Confederate, fullname Earl Van Dorn; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…A very considerable affair ensued between Ord's little command and the whole of Van Dorn's armygreene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1 · snapshot
a53e111410ce…Side strength (ledger v3)
US: grade D: no usable figure (modelled in the rating runs)
whole_engagement_leakage
Confederate: grade D: no usable figure (modelled in the rating runs)
whole_engagement_leakage
Dossier claims
Draft dossier, revision opening-strength-rationale-propagation-2026-09-25. Claims are extraction records with their quoted passages, not historical adjudication. JSON
information
supportedunresolved NPS says Van Dorn's scouts found another crossing while Price's men were engaged with Ord.
Summary of reconnaissance; no inspected report.
Van Dorn's scouts looked for and found another crossing of the Hatchie River.nps-tn007-v1, Description · snapshot
325589d116d3…logistics
supportedunresolved Greene says Rosecrans's four pursuing divisions ran into one another about seven miles from Corinth, and that when Rosecrans and Hurlbut later pursued as far as Ripley, Grant ordered them back owing to their lack of preparation for an extended movement.
Attributed movement problems; no march or supply record inspected. The Ripley recall follows the October 5 action and is campaign context, not the Hatchie's Bridge result.
all four divisions ran against each other about seven miles from Corinthgreene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…Rosecrans and Hurlbut pursued as far as Ripley,greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…owing to their lack of preparation for an extended movementgreene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.53 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…objectives
supportedunresolved Greene says Hurlbut was ordered to intercept the Confederate retreat; NPS says Ord was advancing under orders to assist Rosecrans.
Attributed orders from summaries; no inspected originals.
with orders to intercept the Confederate re- treat.greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…pursuant to orders, advancing on Corinth to assist Rosecransnps-tn007-v1, Description · snapshot
325589d116d3…outcome
supportedpost_outcome The frozen and live results read Union victory. Both sources say Van Dorn escaped and continued his retreat.
Retain the original result and engagement interval; later movements and campaign contribution are different measures. No new probabilities or individual causal credit. Escape of the Confederate army is campaign context, not a separate result.
he managed to defend himself against Ord, and to continue his retreat on the east bank of the Hatchiegreene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…supportedpost_outcome The frozen casualty text and live field agree: 900 total (US 500; CS 400). Greene gives no separate figure.
Original casualty returns were not inspected; preserve totals, categories, cutoffs and differences. No canonical reconciliation or casualty-based opening count; related actions must not be added without resolving population overlap.
900 total (US 500; CS 400)arnold-cwsac-battles, battle TN007; column casualties_text · snapshot
952b5d08402a…responsibility
supportedunresolved NPS says Ord took command of the combined force, was wounded and Hurlbut assumed command; Greene says Ord arrived and took command and was severely wounded. The live heading ranks Ord Brigadier General against the frozen Major General.
Both frozen Union commanders held command in turn; neither receives automatic sole credit. The heading rank is not adopted.
On the fol- lowing morning Ord arrived and took command of this column.greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…in which Ord was severely wounded.greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…Major Generalarnold-cwsac-commanders, battle TN007, belligerent US, fullname Edward O.C. Ord; column rank · snapshot
6c587c298717…strength
unknownunresolved
No inspected return establishes matched personnel at a common opening boundary. The frozen side-specific numerical strength bounds are blank (missing_numeric_strength). No figure in this pass is adopted as a simultaneous opening force.
disputedunresolved The frozen force field reads Detachment [US]; Army of the West [CS]; the live field reads zero. NPS names Hurlbut's '4th Brigade' joining Ord; Greene says Hurlbut moved with his division and calls the fight Ord's little command against the whole of Van Dorn's army.
Formation descriptions without counts; the sources differ on Hurlbut's formation. Live zeros are not measured absence.
Detachment [US]; Army of the West [CS]arnold-cwsac-battles, battle TN007; column forces_text · snapshot
952b5d08402a…Hurlbut, in obedience to orders from Grant, moved with his division from Bolivargreene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…A very considerable affair ensued between Ord's little command and the whole of Van Dorn's armygreene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…terrain
supportedunresolved NPS says Ord pushed Price back to the Hatchie and across Davis' Bridge; Greene says the advance guard was driven back across the bridge and the army continued on the east bank six miles to Crum's Mill, where it crossed during the night.
River and bridge description; no map verification.
back about five miles to the Hatchie River and across Davis' Bridgenps-tn007-v1, Description · snapshot
325589d116d3…was imme- diately attacked by Ord and driven back across the bridge.greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…to continue his retreat on the east bank of the Hatchie for six miles to Crum's Mill.greene-iuka-corinth-selections-v1, p.52 (OCR page markers; not checked against print) · snapshot
a53e111410ce…Open questions
- Returns, the Hurlbut formation's scope and the command-transfer clock remain deferred.
- NPS/CWSAC is one family; Greene is one retrospective history by a non-participant Union engineer officer, founded on the Official Records. Reports quoted inside Greene are not additional independently inspected families.
- No automatic commander attribution, causal campaign score, morale/readiness number or battle/campaign double counting.