Rosecrans defeats Sterling Price at Iuka, Mississippi

Background. In 1862, Union Brigadier General William Rosecrans was transferred to the Western theater and given command of two divisions, designated the Right Wing, under Major General Grant, who commanded the District of Western Tennessee and the Army of the Tennessee. Grant directed Rosecrans in the Iuka-Corinth campaign of September and October 1862. The engagement at Iuka was the opening battle of that campaign.

Commanders. William Rosecrans was a Union officer who won prominent battles in the Western theater of the American Civil War, including Iuka. He commanded the Right Wing, two divisions under Grant. Sterling Price was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who fought in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters; he was commissioned a Major-General in the Confederate States Army on March 6, 1862, under Van Dorn's command.

Outcome. Sources identify Rosecrans as the victor at Iuka on September 19, 1862, and place him at the battle on that date. The supplied passages do not characterize the outcome as a clear defeat, nor do they detail contested outcomes on parts of the field. The battle site was open forest and cleared farm land in 1862, now largely covered by thick woods and undergrowth.