Corinth is located in Alcorn County (of which it is the county seat) three miles from the Alabama-Tennessee state line along Highway 72.

During the Civil War Corinth was occupied by both Union and Confederate troops. In October 1862 forces clashed in the Battle of Corinth, one of the war's most intense engagements. Some historians consider it to have been the bloodiest battle in the Western Hemisphere. Battery Robinette is a reconstruction of the part of the Federal inner line of defense that was the most contested position in the battle.

The Corinth National Cemetery, a segment of the Corinth Civil War Battlefield, is the final resting place for more than 5,600 soldiers.