On the night of the 3d, accordingly, I ordered General McPherson, who was at Jackson, to join Rosecrans at Corinth with reinforcements picked up along the line of the railroad equal to a brigade.  Hurlbut had been ordered from Bolivar to march for the same destination; and as Van Dorn was coming upon Corinth from the north-west some of his men fell in with the advance of Hurlbut’s and some skirmishing ensued on the evening of the 3d.  On the 4th Van Dorn made a dashing attack, hoping, no doubt, to capture Rosecrans before his reinforcements could come up.  In that case the enemy himself could have occupied the defences of Corinth and held at bay all the Union troops that arrived.  In fact he could have taken the offensive against the reinforcements with three or four times their number and still left a sufficient garrison in the works about Corinth to hold them.  He came near success, some of his troops penetrating the National lines at least once, but the works that were built after Halleck’s departure enabled Rosecrans to hold his position until the troops of both McPherson and Hurlbut approached towards the rebel front and rear.  The enemy was finally driven back with great slaughter:  all their charges, made with great gallantry, were repulsed.  The loss on our side was heavy, but nothing to compare with Van Dorn’s.  McPherson came up with the train of cars bearing his command as close to the enemy as was prudent, debarked on the rebel flank and got in to the support of Rosecrans just after the repulse.  His approach, as well as that of Hurlbut, was known to the enemy and had a moral effect.  General Rosecrans, however, failed to follow up the victory, although I had given specific orders in advance of the battle for him to pursue the moment the enemy was repelled.  He did not do so, and I repeated the order after the battle.  In the first order he was notified that the force of 4,000 men which was going to his assistance would be in great peril if the enemy was not pursued.

General Ord had joined Hurlbut on the 4th and being senior took command of his troops.  This force encountered the head of Van Dorn’s retreating column just as it was crossing the Hatchie by a bridge some ten miles out from Corinth.  The bottom land here was swampy and bad for the operations of troops, making a good place to get an enemy into.  Ord attacked the troops that had crossed the bridge and drove them back in a panic.  Many were killed, and others were drowned by being pushed off the bridge in their hurried retreat.  Ord followed and met the main force.  He was too weak in numbers to assault, but he held the bridge and compelled the enemy to resume his retreat by another bridge higher up the stream.  Ord was wounded in this engagement and the command devolved on Hurlbut.