The attack occurred during Morgan's Raid in the American Civil War as a force of 2,500 cavalry invaded the North in support of the Tullahoma Campaign.

Unaware of the size of the invading army, four companies of the 6th and 8th Regiments of the Legion, totaling about one hundred men, attempted to prevent the Confederates from crossing the Ohio River into Indiana, but were overcome by superior artillery fire which killed two of the defenders.

As the raiders approached from the south, the advance elements formed a battle line and launched a frontal attack and an unsuccessful flanking movement against the east side of the Legion's works.

Confederates then seized the Legion's commissary supplies on the edge of town, and fired two warning shots into the downtown from their artillery, convincing Jordan that continued resistance was futile and leading him to surrender his force and Corydon.

Gen. John H. Morgan led a cavalry division consisting of two brigades, totaling nearly 2,500 men, and two batteries of artillery, northward from Tennessee in the Confederacy.

He did not find the support he was looking for, and had been pursued by elements of the 6th and 8th Regiment of the Indiana Legion who killed three of his men and captured several others before the remainder escaped back into Kentucky.

[16] The Ohio River was swollen from recent rain, making any hope of fording it impossible and requiring that the Confederates secure boats to ferry their men across.

[17][n 2] The one ship would not be enough to allow the Confederate division to quickly cross the river, so to capture another boat the McCombs was used to simulate a distress call to lure in the fast sidewheel steamer Alice Dean.

Three companies of the 6th Regiment Indiana Legion based in Mauckport and totaling about one hundred men moved to Morvin's Landing, the north bank of the river opposite Brandenburg, to contest the crossing.

[20] Two shots were fired, with the second one hitting the upper deck of the McCombs, passing through the ship and landing near a group of men on the shore, wounding a Confederate.

[n 4] Just as the shelling began Provost Marshal John Timberlake arrived on the scene from Corydon with a small company of reinforcements and assumed command.

Timberlake, who was a colonel in the regular army, believed Morgan's force was small, and decided to spare the steamships and instead shell the massed cavalry.

[21] Before the cannon could be re-aimed, the superior Confederate artillery was set up and returned fire from their significantly higher position on the opposite side of the river.

The tinclad Springfield, armed with six 24-pound howitzers, was at New Albany and was dispatched down-river and arrived on the scene just after Morgan had begun to ferry his force across the river.

[23][24] After about half of his army had been ferried into Indiana, the Union gunboat USS Elk and an armed private ship, the Grey Eagle, arrived on the scene.

The lead elements of the Union force arrived in Brandenburg at about 8:00 pm, where the Confederate rearguard was able to delay their advance long enough for Morgan's artillery to be carried across the river.

[37] At 11:30 a.m. on July 9, the 3rd Regiment Kentucky Cavalry, the advance element of the Confederate forces under the command of Col. Adam R. Johnson, was sighted moving north along the Mauckport Road towards Corydon.

[38] Col. Johnson believed the artillery could have quickly dispersed the four hundred farmers-turned-soldiers, but Morgan was worried about any delay because during the night the Union forces had begun crossing the river in his rear.

They were equipped with Henry rifles capable of firing fourteen rounds before reloading, and were able to keep the Confederates pinned down in the open field for about twenty minutes.

[12][41][42] Shortly after the third repulse of the Confederates on the western wing, the 2nd Kentucky and 9th Tennessee regiments arrived from the Mauckport Road and joined the battle, giving the attackers a numerical superiority.

[12][43][44] Using the cannons and one infantry battalion to prevent the defenders from maneuvering, Col. Richard Morgan, the general's brother, launched a pincer movement in an attempt to surround the Legion units.

[12][46][47] Accounts vary as to the number of casualties, but the most reliable evidence suggests that Jordan lost four killed, ten to twelve wounded, and 355 captured—about 100 escaped.

Morgan paroled the Legion as if they had been regular soldiers; their weapons and ammunition were seized or destroyed, and they were required to promise not return to arms for a period of time.

The cavalrymen spent the afternoon plundering stores and collecting ransom money; Morgan threatened to torch three local mills, and demanded each of them pay $1,000 to prevent their destruction.

[54] Morgan ate lunch at the Kintner House Inn where he read a newspaper and learned of the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg.

"[55] Morgan had intended to meet up with the Confederate army in Pennsylvania, but with their forces in retreat this was impossible and began to plan for a safe return across the Ohio River.

[48][57] Shortly after looting the town, detachments of raiders left Corydon and continued their raid, scouring the countryside for fresh horses and food.

[58] By about 6:00 pm Morgan and the main body had resumed their march northward, foraging in northern Harrison County before camping a few miles from Corydon, near New Salisbury.

[59] As soon as he learned of the defeat at Corydon, Governor Morton sent a series of telegrams to Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside, commander of the Army of the Ohio, first requesting then demanding the return of two Indiana regiments recently sent to the defense of Louisville, Kentucky.

Although a Confederate victory, the Battle of Corydon had delayed Morgan by six crucial hours, allowing the pursuing Union army to begin closing the gap.