The battle of Luka and Calvin’s company involvement was on September 19, 1862, at Luka, Mississippi. This was the opening battle of the Luka-Corinth Campaign where Union Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans stopped the advance of the Confederate Army of the West commanded by Maj. Gen. Sterling Price.
In preparation of the battle at Luka, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant brought two armies to confront General Price in a double envelopment. Rosecrans's Army of the Mississippi was to approach Luka from the southwest and three divisions under Maj. General Edward Ord would approach from the northwest. Grant and Ord planned to attack as soon as they heard the sound of battle between Rosecrans and Price. An acoustic shadow suppressed the sound of battle and prevented Grant and Ord from realizing that the battle between Rosecrans and Price had begun leaving only Calvin’s company and Rosecrans’s soldiers to battle the Confederates.
The battle in Luka on September 19, 1862, by Calvin’s company and Rosecrans's men was a long and difficult day. By the afternoon the Confederates withdrew from Luka when a scout reported that Union General Ord had formed a column and was on the advance. The Confederate army left Luka on a road that had not been blocked by the Union army and marched to rendezvous with Confederate Maj. Gen. Earl Van Dorn.
Total participation by Union soldiers 4,500 of which 144 were killed, 598 wounded and 40 captured or missing for a total of 782 or 17%.
Total participation by Confederate soldiers 3,179 of which 263 were killed, 692 wounded and 561 captured or missing for a total of 1,516 or 48%.
