The Union garrison at Corinth protected Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's northeastern flank when he advanced toward Vicksburg in November 1862. Corinth also offered a haven for a large number of refugees, most of whom were slaves seeking safety within the Union lines. Established in late 1862 after the Battle of Corinth, the contraband camp, considered to be a model, housed between 2,500 and 6,000 African-Americans from Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama until the Union army abandoned Corinth in January 1864. African-American men in the camp were recruited for service in the Federal army, and Northern white men and women from abolitionist and benevolent organizations came to Corinth to provide the freedmen with religious, academic, and vocational instruction.

The 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment of African Descent, consisting of approximately 1,000 men, was organized at Corinth on May 21, 1863, and would experience combat at Brice's Crossroaads on June 10, 1864, and at Waterford on August 16-17, 1864. Three companies of another regiment (perhaps as many as 319 men), the 2nd Alabama Infantry of African Descent, were also recruited at Corinth during April and May 1863 and would see action at Athens, Alabama, on September 23-24, 1864. The two regiments would eventually be redesignated the 55th U.S. Colored Troops and the 110th U.S. Colored Troops, respectively.

This site has local significance because it is associated with military activities or events that achieved or affected important local objectives of the Vicksburg campaign.

The Contraband Camp would be added to the Corinth Unit of Shiloh National Military Park. The Friends of the Siege and Battle of Corinth have acquired 20 acres at the Contraband Camp for eventual transfer to the National Park System. It would offer, when fully developed, an interpretive theme that is currently underrepresented in the National Park System. Onsite activities are planned including trails, waysides, etc.