The Memphis and Charleston Railroad was the major east-west route in Tennessee, running eastward from the river port at Memphis, dropping into Mississippi, and then extending into Alabama, where it ultimately connected with the Nashville and Chattanooga.  A short branch line ran northward from Moscow to Somerville, and there was a junction with the Mississippi Central at Grand Junction.  At Corinth (Mississippi) the M&C connected with the Mobile and Ohio, at Decatur (Alabama) with the Tennessee & Alabama, and at Stevenson (Alabama) with the Nashville & Chattanooga.

Early in the war, the obvious strategic value of the junction at Corinth meant that Federal and Confederate forces would struggle for control of the M&C and connecting railroads, culminating in the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.  When Federal forces secured the M&C, they struck a major blow to the Confederate transportation system.  Despite continued Confederate harassment of the M&C over the next few years, the Federal Quartermaster Department, and later the U.S. Military Railroads, retained primary control of this strategic line for the rest of the war.  Even after the military focus shifted to Middle Tennessee later in the war (in support of the Atlanta campaign), the USMRR worked to keep the M&C open.

Please click on the link below for a detailed listing of the railroad facilities on the M&C as operated by the Federal forces:
 
 

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Last updated:  May 2, 2000