Iuka, Mississippi
September 19, 1862

A Confederate column under Maj. Gen. Sterling Price occupied Iuka in mid-September 1862, intent on preventing Union occupation forces in northern Mississippi and western Tennessee from reinforcing the garrison at Nashville. Alarmed that Price might be en route to strengthen Gen. Braxton Bragg's Kentucky offensive, Maj. Gen. Ulysses Grant prepared to attack the town from the south and west.

As Union troops approached the outskirts of Iuka late on the afternoon of September 19, they collided with one of Price's divisions hastily redeployed a mile southwest of town to counter the Union threat. A bitter, pitched battle raged for the next three hours, during which the Confederates managed to drive the head of the Federal column back a third of a mile before darkness ended further carnage. Although Price was initially inclined to renew the battle the next morning, the presence of Union reinforcements convinced him to withdraw to the south during the night to join preparations for the attack on Corinth.

Threat: Like many other Civil War battlefields, modern roadways penetrate the core battlefield and scene of the most significant fighting at Iuka. The intersection of U.S. Route 72 and Miss. Route 25 is a hotbed for development in the region. A motel was built on the spot where Lt. Cyrus Sears' 11th Ohio Battery unlimbered and served its guns in the heart of the battlefield; the building's foundation destroyed the hillside and valuable artifacts were lost.

Luckily, there have been some preservation successes in the last few years, most notably the preservation of 57 acres by the Iuka Battlefield Commission. This group is looking for additional properties to preserve and opportunities to add visitor services to the site.

Priority: CWSAC classified Iuka as a Priority IV, Class C battlefield.

Please note that no attempt is made to rank the sites within History Under Siege— instead, the battlefields are listed in alphabetical order.