The Darkest Days of the War

During the late summer of 1862, Confederate forces attempted a three-pronged strategic advance into the North. The outcome of this offensive — the only coordinated Confederate attempt to carry the conflict to the enemy — was disastrous. The results at Antietam and in Kentucky are well known; the third offensive, the northern Mississippi campaign, led to the devastating and little-studied defeats at Iuka and Corinth, defeats that would open the way for Grant’s attack on Vicksburg. Peter Cozzens p