BGuthrie Photos: MS -- Brice's Crossroads Natl Battlefield

MS -- Brice's Crossroads Natl Battlefield:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. BRICE_130527_009.JPG: (1) First shots of the Battle of Brice's Crossroads were fired here at 9:30 morning of June 10, 1864 Scouts from General Nathan Bedford Forrest's 7th Tennessee (Confederate) met scouts from General Samuel D. Sturgis' 4th Missouri (Federal).
2. BRICE_130527_024.JPG: (2) Advance forces of General Forrest and General Sturgis' cavalry met in skirmish here. The 3rd, 7th, 8th, and 12th Kentucky (Confederate) met the 4th Missouri, 3rd, 9th Illinois and 2nd New Jersey shortly before forming first battle line.
3. BRICE_130527_043.JPG: (3) Confederates' first battle line formed here, at 1:00 o'clock. General Forrest's men were all on the field ready for action. From a quarter of a mile north and extending more than a mile south, across the Guntown Road, the Confederates formed a pincers movement against the enemy. Confederate units engaged in this line. From the northern end of the line, Warren's and Williams' battalions 4th Alabama, Moreland's 7th, 3rd, 8th and 12th Kentucky, 7th Tennessee, 18th and 8th Mississippi and companies A and H of the 12th Kentucky. [There's a large bullet hole in this sign]
4. BRICE_130527_056.JPG: (4) Federal cavalry and artillery formed first battle line here. From 500 hundred [sic] yards north and extending more than a mile south, across the Guntown Road. This line, behind rail fences and dense scrub-oak thickets fought stubbornly as the Confederates pushed on to the crossroads. Hand to hand fighting along this line. Federal cavalry and artillery engaged in this line. From the northern end o the line, Company H of 7th Indiana, 4th Missouri, 4th Missouri battery on north side of road, 14th Indiana battery on south side of road, 7th Indiana, 2nd New Jersey, 3rd Iowa battalions, 4th Iowa and 3td Iowa battalion. [There's a large bullet hole in this sign]
5. BRICE_130527_065.JPG: (5) Confederate's second battle line. Pushing the Union forces back, General Forrest slowly closed his pincers movement, forcing General Sturgis nearer the crossroads. This line was anchored on the Blackland Road 400 yards northwest. The southern end across the Guntown Road. Confederate units forming this line. Warren's and Williams' battalions; 4th Alabama, Moreland's 7th Kentucky, 3rd Kentucky; 8th Kentucky; 12th Kentucky, Morton's and Rice's batteries; 7th Tennessee; 18th Mississippi; 16th Tennessee; 15th Tennessee; 19th Tennessee; 8th Mississippi; General Sturgis' escort and Co. A and C of 12th Kentucky.
6. BRICE_130527_102.JPG: Trail Stop A-1 Brice's Cross Roads June 10, 1864 Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest "owned" northern Mississippi and southwestern Tennessee in mid-1864, but that was not where the war was being won or lost. Port Hudson, Louisiana, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, had fallen in July 1863, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River. Gen. William T. Sherman was advancing steadily on Atlanta. Grant was engaging Lee at Cold Harbor and Petersburg, Virginia, in the push toward Richmond. Still, Forrest's command worried Union planners. His cavalry could move fast, and when dismounted, strike hard. Sherman maintained only a single railroad line to supply depots in central Tennessee. Preservation of that rail link was essential if the push toward Atlanta was to continue. That "lifeline" was particularly vulnerable to attack from the southwest - Forrest's theater of operations. These larger considerations brought about the battle at Brice's Cross Roads that took place on June 10, 1864. Forrest had actually begun to move on Sherman's lines on June 1, 1864, the same day that Brig. Gen. Samual D. Sturgis left Memphis to engage Forrest's attention in Mississippi and Tennessee in order to keep him from mounting an attack on Sherman's supply line. Sturgis left Memphis with 8,100 troops - Forrest was ordered back to Mississippi to meet the Union invasion. After eight days of marching, Sturgis met Forrest's 3,500 cavalry in the dense brush east of Tishomingo Creek. In the mire and muck of the rain-soaked Mississippi roads, Sturgis has allowed his command to string out for more than six miles. After a brief initial skirmish, Forrest engaged the advance Union cavalry units about noon with a superior force of dismounted cavalry, pushing the northerners back to a second line of battle hastily mounted by arriving infantry. The Union cavalry retired as infantry units were thrown into line as they reached the front - weary from the double-time march along impassable roads and exhausted by the heat of the day. Forrest launched another attack about 2:00 p.m. against the second Union line. Again outnumbered by Forrest's troops, the Yankees broke under several charges. It was only a concerted stand at the Cross Roads by Union artillery and a staunch defense by rear guard infantry at the Tishomingo Creek Bridge that allowed most of the Union troops to retreat west of the bridge. Forrest's (now mounted) cavalry pressured the retreating Union force for more than 25 miles, resulting in heavy Union losses. Federal losses amounted to 223 killed, 394 wounded, and 1623 missing. Eighteen artillery pieces (of 20) and the entire train of 200 supply wagons were lost. Confederate losses amounted to 96 killed and 396 wounded. In explaining his victory, Gen. Forrest is quoted as saying, "Well, I got there first with the most men." However, by late July, Atlanta had fallen, Grant laid siege to Petersburg and Richmond in October, and Forrest's command was again bottled up in northern Mississippi by Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith. When Forrest finally moved east into Alabama in November to join Maj. Gen. John Bell Hood's ill-fated invasion of central Tennessee, he had little effect on the major theaters of the larger war during 1864.
7. BRICE_130527_143.JPG: Trail Stop B-2 Brice's Cross Roads First Main Battle Line (Union) Brig. Gen. Benjamin Grierson's Federal cavalry (3,300 troops) left Stubbs plantation (nine miles northwest of Brice's Cross Roads) at daybreak on June 10, 1864. By 10:00 a.m. the cavalry had reached Brice's Cross Roads and advance units had encountered "a heavy force of the enemy" along the Baldwyn Road. The cavalry was dismounted and deployed on either side of the road, in the woods at the western edge of a cleared field, one-half mile east of the Cross Roads. Col. George Waring's brigade was astride the road and Col. Edward Winslow's brigade was on the right of Waring's. ...I informed (Gen. Sturgis) that I had an advantageous position and could hold it if the infantry was brought up promptly. The enemy advanced upon us in large numbers, with double line of skirmishers and line of battle... -- Brig. Gen. B. H. Grierson, Cavalry Division (US) By noon Forrest had three brigades on the field (Lyon, Johnson and Rucker) and outnumbered the Federal cavalry in front of him. Forrest's first two attacks (a general frontal assault and a second against Waring's left) were repulsed, but his third succeeded in breaching the Union line between Waring's right flank and Winslow's left (immediately southwest of this location). The Union retreated to new positions one quarter mile from the Cross Roads. The enemy was in very thick brush. I could not tell the exact position of the enemy's line....I had moved forward but a short distance when the enemy fired a volley...by which Lieutenant Dillon and many others of the company were severely wounded. The left of the regiment was obliged to fall back...As I heard the enemy advancing through the brush I ordered the regiment to lie close to the ground. (The Confederates) charged us twice in this position, but were driven back with heavy loss. We lay here about two hours within sixty yards of the enemy, the brush being so thick that we could not see them. -- Maj. Abial R. Pierce, Fourth Iowa Cavalry
8. BRICE_130527_163.JPG: Trail Stop B-1 Brice's Cross Roads First Main Battle Line Overview By 10:00 a.m. on June 10, 1864, Col. George Waring's Federal cavalry had reached the Cross Roads. The troops deployed on either side of the Baldwyn Road, in the woods at the western edge of a cleared field, one-half mile east of the Cross Roads. Skirmishing between one of Waring's squadrons and advance Confederate squads had already taken place further east on the Baldwyn Road. Facing Waring's troops from the opposing hilltop across a small creek was Col. Hylan B. Lyon's brigade which was soon reinforced by Col. Edmund W. Rucker's brigade on the left. When Col. William W. Johnson's cavalry arrived and was positioned on the right of Lyon, Forrest exploited his advantage in numbers and launched a series of attacks. ...the enemy advanced in strong force from the woods opposite to us, and a heavy engagement ensued, which resulted in their repulse. Subsequently they made two other desperate attampts to take our position, one on the left and one on the right of the road. these attacks were exceedingly fierce, and consisting of a double line of skirmishers with an infantry line of battle, and a column of support behind, apparently numbering 4,000 men. the first of these assaults was repulsed... -- Col. George E. Waring, Jr., Fourth Missouri Cavalry commanding First Brigade Forrest's first two attacks (a general frontal assault and a second against Waring's left) were repulsed, but his third succeeded in breaching the Union line between Waring's right flank and Col. Edward Winslow's left. (200 yards south of this location.) The Union retreated to a new position one quarter mile from the Cross Roads. ...the second one, after a hand-to-hand fight, was successful, and forced back my right, although the whole Second New Jersey and reserve of the Seventh Indiana were brought into action....After falling back a short distance I succeeded in forming a second line, which was held until the infantry came up and relieved my command which was much fatigued and out of ammunition. -- Col. George E. Waring, Jr.
9. BRICE_130527_186.JPG: (6) Federal's second battle line. General Sturgis was able to use his infantry here for the first time in the battle. General Forrest had beaten the Union cavalry before the infantry reached the battlefield. Infantry and cavalry formed this line. Infantry units engaged in this line. 95th Ohio, 113th Illinois, 120th Missouri, 109th Illinois, 35th Illinois, 81st Illinois, 114th Illinois, 93rd Indiana and 9th Minnesota. Cavalry units engaged in this line. General Sturgis' personal escort, the 19th Pennsylvania blocking the Baldwyn Road, 3rd Iowa battalion, and 4th Iowa.
10. BRICE_130527_215.JPG: (7) General Sturgis' supreme effort to hold the Crossroads. Placing the 93rd Illinois, 8th Illinois, and 114th Illinois infantry here and immediately behind, he placed his artillery consisting of battery B of 2nd Illinois, 7th Wisconsin battery, 14th Indiana battery, Battery E of 1st Illinois, and Joyce's battery. Orders were given to fire over heads of infantry into advancing Confederates.
11. BRICE_130527_239.JPG: (8) The Brice Home stood where monument is located. The battle-scarred two-story house, with its blood-stained floors and walls was used by wounded of both armies to escape shot and shell as the battle raged.
12. BRICE_130527_310.JPG: In memory of the men of the Confederate and the Federal armies who took part in the battle of Brice's Cross Roads on Tishomingo Creek June 10, 1864 which resulted in a victory for the Confederate forces under Brigadier General N.B. Forrest
13. BRICE_130527_315.JPG: The Western Campaign, 1864 When General Sherman advanced on Atlanta, General Forrest sought to destroy the Union supply line between Nashville and Chattanooga. He had nearly reached the Tennessee River when he had to turn back to meet a Union force marching southeast from Memphis under General Sturgis. Forrest's remarkable ability to concentrate his men quickly and to strike vigorously resulted on total victory by 4,787 Confederates over 7,900 Federal troops who retreated in confusion to Memphis. Yet Forrest was diverted from his primary mission of destroying the supply line. Sherman continued his march toward Atlanta.
14. BRICE_130527_328.JPG: Brought at a gallop for some eight miles, Morton's and Rice's Batteries were sent forward to a hill and opened with spirit and execution. Gen. Forrest ordered his artillery to be double-shotted with canister and moved to within sixty yards of the Federal lines; about a fourth mile northeast of Brice's House, opening with great destruction. As the Federals were drawing back toward Thishamingo Creek, Morton's and Rice's Batteries fired with fearful carnage. They charged their batteries up to the enemy and poured a deadly tide of canister with ghastly effect. As the Federals emerged from the creek, Forrest's Artillery played upon them for half a mile, killing or disabling large numbers. Erected by Freeman's Battery Forrest's Artillery Camp 1939 Sons of Confederate Veterans June 11, 2005
15. BRICE_130527_352.JPG: Dedicated to Morton's Battery Forrest's Artillery and John W. Morton, Jr. Gen. N.B. Forrest's Chief of artillery and the Confederacy's youngest artillery captain Morton's Battery fought here during the Battle of Brice's Crossroads June 10, 1864, with four three inch rifled cannon.
16. BRICE_130527_394.JPG: Bethany A.R.P Church Organized in 1852 by the Alabama Presbytery, Bethany Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church had a charter membership of twenty-five including four slaves. The church was used as a hospital in 1864 following the Battle of Brice's Cross Roads. The present structure, built in 1956, is located across the road from the original church. Mississippi Department of Archives and History 2002
17. BRICE_130527_443.JPG: "Do not forget the gallant dead upon these fields of glory." -- N.B. Forrest Erected by Camp 879 Sons of Confederate Veterans, June 11, 1994
18. BRICE_130527_511.JPG: "Battlefields may seem on the historic page, to be fields of glory, but in reality, they are most horrid scenes," according to Rev. S.A. Agnew. And this cemetery was the site of heavy fighting here at the crossroads. The Brice House, which stood at the present National Park Service site and the Bethany A.R.P. Church, which sat beside the cemetery, were used as hospitals for the wounded and dying. The mass grave that lied beneath the 98 headstones contains about 30 Confederate soldiers according to Rev. Samuel Agnew, pastor of Bethany ARP Church from 1867 till 1902. Most of the fallen Confederate soldiers lie in unidentified graves throughout the battlefield. The identity of soldiers represented by the 98 headstones marking the site of the mass grave has been made by Roger Hansen of Pascagoula, Mississippi who began this project more than 25 years ago. His research began with the 04 July 1864 formal report (pictured) of General Forrest's Chief Surgeon and Medical Director, Dr. JB Cowan. His other sources include published and unpublished regimental unit histories, manuscripts, soldiers' letters, period newspapers casualty lists, state archives unit roles, and county histories.
19. BRICE_130527_630.JPG: Union Wagon Train A critical factor in the Union defeat at Brice's Crossroads was the decision by an unknown officer to bring most if not all of the Union supply train across the Tishomingo Creek Bridge and into the field across the road from where you now stand. When the time came for retreat, the slow-moving wagons clogged the narrow bridge, creating a panic among exhausted Union troops who were desperate to get away from the enemy fire. The supply train consisted of 250 wagons, each pulled by a team of four to six horses or mules. The wagons carried ammunition, food, forage and equipment, and also served as ambulances. Quote (bottom of tablet): "Pack animals, wagons, ambulances, the sick, servants, all of those necessary evils which clog an army, came dragging and straggling along in front of the guard. They ought not to have gone over the bridge but ... they moved right on ..." -- Captain William Forse Scott, 4th Iowa Cavalry
20. BRICE_130527_640.JPG: Terrain and Landscape: Even as late as 1864, northeast Mississippi was sparsely populated. Just thirty years earlier the whole area had belonged to the Chickasaw Nation, and many of the local white landowners had moved here after 1845. The Bethany Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, today the lone occupant of the Crossroads, was founded in 1852. During the 1860s some of the land was used to grow cotton and corn, but much of the area remained wooded with dense underbrush. The battlefield of Brice's Crossroads, therefore, was as much forest as field, which greatly affected how soldiers could fight. Cavalry troops had to leave their horses in the rear and venture into the forest on foot. Soldiers might be just a few yards away from the enemy line and yet not be able to see them through the underbrush. "The day was extremely hot and sultry, the country was largely woodland, the roads very muddy, and the rapid march, under a scorching sun, had a very exhausting effect upon the men." -- Sergeant C.F. Macdonald, 9th Minnesota Infantry "Tippah Co Life: When I first came here I was bewildered. Every way I looked I saw woods -- no clearing. I saw for the first time bored wells. Saw many things which appeared very strange at first but all have become common place to me now." -- Samuel A. Agnew diary, December 15, 1852
21. BRICE_130527_657.JPG: Artillery at Log Cabin Ridge: As Union troops retreated toward Tishomingo Creek, they faced not only a blocked bridge and a rain-swollen creek, but also deadly cannon fire coming from this ridge. Confederate artillerymen rained the fire upon the scrambling Yankees with four field guns -- two twelve-pounder howitzers and two three-inch ordnance rifles. The Confederate artillery, led by Captain John W. Morton, played a significant role in this battle at multiple points. Their permanence that day was all the more impressive because of the difficulty of maneuvering the guns and caissons through the woods and along primitive, muddy roads. The Confederate artillery continued to pursue and attack the routed Federals across Tishomingo Creek and through the swampy woods, even pushing the guns along by hand. Each of the two guns in an artillery section was manned by seven soldiers with specific assignments that included swabbing the bore, inserting the ammunition and projectile, sighting (aiming) the gun, preparing the fuses, relaying ammunition from the ammunition chests on the limber and caissons, and pulling the lanyard to fire the weapon. "The enemy got the range, and dropped shells there and among the wagons, parked on the east side of the creek, with such accuracy as to increase the disorder frightfully." -- Captain William Force Scott, 4th Iowa Cavalry
22. BRICE_130527_663.JPG: Trail Stop C-1 Brice's Cross Roads Confederate Victory -- Pursuit of the Union Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry had routed Brig. Gen. Benjamin Grierson's Federal cavalry one-half mile east of the Cross Roads and the Federal infantry that was thrown into battle line one-quarter mile east of the Cross Roads. A strong defense at the Cross Roads by several Union infantry regiments and artillery units allowed the infantry brigades of Cols. Alexander Wilkin and George B. Hoge to retreat west from the Cross Roads up the Ripley Road. "(At the Cross Roads), in conjunction with the artillery, we maintained our position for more than two hours, a regular stand-up fight....the enemy making charge after charge in front, only to be driven back by volleys of grape, canister, and musketry....my command fighting until almost surrounded, the enemy within twenty steps of our guns, we were the last to leave the field that day." -- Lt. Col. Andrew W. Rodgers, 81st Illinois Vol. Inf. The Union defense at the Cross Roads was broken by repeated Confederate charges and by Col. Barteau's flanking movement and threat to gain the Union rear. "The steady advance of my men and the concentrated, well-directed, and rapid fire from my batteries...threw (the Union) back, and the retreat or rout began." (Forrest) The 72nd Ohio infantry, the 6th Indiana artillery, and several companies of the 55th United States Colored Infantry (USCI) defended the Tishomingo Creek Bridge along with remnants of retreating Union regiments. Before reaching Tishomingo Creek the road was so blockaded with abandoned vehicles of every description that it was difficult to move the artillery forward. Ordering up my horses, they were mounted and the pursuit was then continued and the enemy were driven until dark. He attempted the destruction of his wagons, loaded with ammunition and bacon, but so closely was he pursued that many of them were saved without injury, although the road was lighted for some distance. ...In the bottom on the south prong of the Hatchie (River) they had abandoned the balance of their wagon train, all their wounded, and 14 pieces of artillery. On reaching the town of Ripley, about 8 a.m., the enemy was found in line of battle...and at the first appearance of additional forces he again retreated...and from this place to the end of their pursuit the enemy offered no organized resistance, but retreated in the most complete disorder, throwing their guns, clothing, and everything calculated to impede his flight. This victory may be justly considered one of the most complete of the war, and for it I feel indebted to the valor of my troops.... -- Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, C. S. Army
23. BRICE_130527_673.JPG: Trail Stop C-2 Brice's Cross Roads Union Retreat -- Defense at the Bridge The bottleneck created by the Tishomingo Creek Bridge and the flanking movement of Confederate Col. Barteau's 2nd Tennessee regiment almost spelled diaster for Union troops retreating from the Cross Roads in front of Forrest's main force. The steep banks of Tishomingo Creek, the waters of the creek high from days of rain and the confusion of a disorganized retreat that included a supply train of 200 wagons, almost resulted in the loss of the entire Union expeditionary force at this place. "A shell bursting near where General Grierson and myself were standing gave me the first intimation of defeat, and I immediately galloped to the front to look after the Seventh Illinois, Tenth Missouri and Fourth Iowa Regiments, finding all the way to the bridge an indiscriminate mass of wagons, artillery, caissons, ambulances, and broken, disorganized troops. "The Fourth Iowa was forced to dismount at the bridge and take position on a small hill at the front to check the enemy while their horses passed the creek. two infantry regiments which were retreating in disorder were by this maneuver saved from destruction or capture. -- Col. Edward F. Winslow, commanding 2nd Cavalry Brigade
24. BRICE_130527_701.JPG: (10) General Barteau's flank movement. Along the ridge northeast, General Barteau's 2nd Tennessee flanked the Union forces, creating havoc among white and Negro soldiers of General Sturgis' command.
25. BRICE_130527_709.JPG: (9) Tishomingo Creek Bridge. Retreating wagons blocked bridge. General Forrest captured 200 wagons, 14 pieces of artillery and hundreds of men. Artillery fire from the Crossroads killed hundreds of Federals here.
26. BRICE_130527_713.JPG: Chief Tishomingo Long before Civil War soldiers fought at this site in 1864, this land was part of the Chickasaw Nation. Tishomingo, whose name derived from the Chickasaw title tishu minko meaning "speaker for the chief" or "assistant chief" in the Chickasaw language, lived near here and was a prominent leader of the Chickasaws in this district. Tishomingo was born as early as the 1730s, probably at Chickasaw Old Town in what is now northwest Tupelo. Tishomingo was a warrior and a staunch defender of Chickasaw lands and sovereignty. Chickasaws fought alongside American troops in numerous conflicts after the American Revolution, notably in the Northwest Indian Confederacy War in the 1790s and in the War of 1812. Tishomingo fought with distinction against the Creeks in the Red Stick War portion of the latter conflict in 1813-1814. Despite this service, the Chickasaws were forced to sell their lands in Mississippi to the U.S. government because of the influx of white settlers. In the 1830s, all of the Southeastern tribes were relocated to Indian Territory in present day Oklahoma. Despite the removal of the Chickasaw Indians from this area, their legacy lives on. Chief Tishomingo's name is still attached to this creek, a town, and a Mississippi county which originally extended from the Tennessee River to within a few miles of here. The tribal capital in the west was also named for him and persists today as Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Chief Tishomingo died in present-day Arkansas about 1840 while assisting tribal members on the Trail of Tears. The location of his grave is unknown. "Although but little is known beyond the limits of his nation, yet he was a man that had seen wars and fought battles - stood high among his own people as a brave and good man." -- Tishomingo's obituary, 1841
27. BRICE_130527_723.JPG: Tishomingo Creek Bridge The Federal retreat at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads was funneled onto a small bridge across Tishomingo Creek. The structure was too narrow for Sturgis' Expeditionary Force, and the span quickly became a bottleneck as horses, wagons, cannon, and men all raced to cross the creek at the same time. The rains of the previous several days had raised the water level of the deeply banked creek, making it very difficult to cross without using the bridge. Panicked soldiers and horses in full retreat attempted to swim across; many crossed successfully, but others were swept away by the rushing waters of the swollen creek. In 1953 some local residents discovered human remains in the Tishomingo creekbed, less than 100 yards from this spot. The partial skeleton is most likely that of a Union soldier who fought at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads, and was found with a pocket watch and the rusted remnants of an Army canteen and rifle. The bones are now interred alongside other Civil War soldiers in the Bethany Cemetery. "The creek banks at the bridge were very high, and many men jumped into the swift stream below, taking their chances at getting across without being drowned or killed by the incessant fire from Morton's Artillery on the bank." -- Captain John W. Morton, Artillery Chief, Forrest's Cavalry
28. BRICE_130527_749.JPG: Spoils of War As Confederate cannon rained fire on exhausted Union troops waiting to cross Tishomingo Creek, a somewhat orderly retreat turned into a panicked rout. Soldiers swam across the creek, bypassing thee clogged and bottlenecked bridge and ran into the woods. Officers lost control of their units. Just one month after the Battle of Brice's Crossroads, Union and Confederate troops faced off again at the Battle of Tupelo. Union general A. J. Smith and his troops defeated the Confederates on July 14, but seeing that his supplies were running low, Smith opted to return to Memphis. While it was a retreat in the technical sense of the word, it in no way resembled the panicked flight of General Sturgis' force just a few weeks earlier. General Forrest, on examining the tables turned in by his provost marshall, chief quartermaster, and chief of ordnance, learned that his command had captured the following at Brice's Crossroads: - Personnel: Col. G W McKeaig of the 10th Illinois; 1 assistant surgeon; 18 captains; 40 lieutenants; 87 noncommissioned officers; 3 musicians; and 1,468 privates; or a total of 1,618 men. - Quartermaster Property: 161 mules; 23 horses; 168 six-horse wagons; 7 four-horse wagons; 1 two-horse wagon; 16 ambulances; and hundreds of sets of harnesses. - Ordnance stores: 16 cannon (one 3-inch ordnance rifle, five James rifles, five 6-pounder guns, two 12-pounder Napoleons); 28 limbers; 15 caissons; hundreds of rounds of artillery ammunition (shot, canister, and spherical case); 15,000 stands of small-arms; 300,000 rounds of small-arms ammunition; several hundred accoutrements (cap-pouches and cartridge-boxes); and a number of sets of artillery harness. "The lines were broken at and near the cross-roads, and when the defeated infantry reached the bridge it was only as a mob ..." -- Captain William Forse Scott, 4th Iowa Cavalry
Wikipedia Description: Battle of Brice's Crossroads
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Brice's Crossroads was fought on June 10, 1864, near Baldwyn in Lee County, Mississippi, during the American Civil War. It pitted a 4,787-man contingent led by Confederate Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest against an 7,900-strong Union force led by Brigadier General Samuel D. Sturgis. The battle ended in a rout of the Union forces and cemented Forrest's reputation as one of the great cavalrymen.

The battle remains a textbook example of an outnumbered force prevailing through better tactics, terrain mastery, and aggressive offensive action. Despite this, the Confederates gained little through the victory other than temporarily keeping the Union out of Alabama and Mississippi.

Situation:

Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman had long known that his fragile supply and communication lines through Tennessee were in serious jeopardy because of depredations by Forrest's cavalry raids. To effect a halt to Forrest's activities, he ordered Gen. Sturgis to conduct a penetration into northern Mississippi and Alabama with a force of around 8,500 troops to destroy Forrest and his command. Sturgis, after some doubts and trepidation, departed Memphis on June 1. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, alerted of Sturgis's movement, warned Forrest. Lee had also planned a rendezvous at Okolona, Mississippi, with Forrest and his own troops but told Forrest to do as he saw fit. Already in transit to Tennessee, Forrest moved his cavalry (less one division) toward Sturgis, but remained unsure of Union intentions.

Forrest soon surmised, correctly, that the Union had actually targeted Tupelo, Mississippi, located in Lee County, about 15 miles south of Brice's Crossroads. Although badly outnumbered, he decided to repulse Sturgis instead of waiting for Lee, and selected an area to attack ahead on Sturgis's projected path. He choose Brice's Crossroads, in what is now Lee County, which featured four muddy roads, heavily wooded areas, and the natural boundary of Tishomingo Creek, which had only one bridge going east to west. Forrest, seeing that the Union cavalry moved three hours ahead of its own infantry, devised a plan that called for an attack on the Union cavalry first, with the idea of forcing the enemy infantry to hurry to assist them. Their infantry would be too tired to offer real help and the Confederates planned to push the entire Union force against the creek to the west. Forrest dispatched most of his men to two nearby towns to wait.

Battle:

At 9:45 a.m. on June 10, a brigade of Benjamin H. Grierson's Union cavalry division reached Brice's Crossroads and the battle started at 10:30 a.m. when the Confederates performed a stalling operation with a brigade of their own. Forrest then ordered the rest of his cavalry to converge around the crossroads. The remainder of the Union cavalry arrived in support, but a strong Confederate assault soon pushed them back at 11:30 a.m., when the balance of Forrest's cavalry arrived on the scene. Grierson called for infantry support and Sturgis obliged. The line held until 1:30 p.m. when the first regiments of Federal infantry arrived.

The Union line, initially bolstered by the infantry, briefly seized the momentum and attacked the Confederate left flank, but Forrest launched an attack from his extreme right and left wings, before the rest of the federal infantry could take to the field. In this phase of the battle, Forrest commanded his artillery to unlimber, unprotected, only yards from the Federal position, and to shell the Union line with grapeshot. The massive damage caused Sturgis to re-order the line in a tighter semi-circle around the crossroads, facing east.

At 3:30, the Confederates in the 2nd Tennessee Cavalry assaulted the bridge across the Tishomingo. Although the attack failed, it caused severe confusion among the Federal troops and Sturgis ordered a general retreat. With the Tennesseeans still pressing, the retreat bottlenecked at the bridge and a panicked rout developed instead. The ensuing wild flight and pursuit back to Memphis carried across six counties before the exhausted Confederates retired.

Aftermath:

The Confederates suffered 492 casualties to the Union's 2,164 (including 1,500 prisoners). Forrest captured huge supplies of arms, artillery, and ammunition as well as plenty of stores. Sturgis suffered demotion and exile to the far West. After the battle, the Union Army again accused Forrest of massacring black soldiers. However, historians believe that charge unwarranted, because later prisoner exchanges undermined the Union claim of disproportionate death.

Battlefield today:

The battle is commemorated at Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, established in 1929. The National Park Service erected and maintains monuments and interpretive panels on a small one-acre plot at the crossroads. This is the spot where the Brice family house once stood. The Brice's Crossroads Museum is in Baldwyn, Mississippi, just over a mile from the battlefield. Brice's Crossroads is considered one of the most beautiful preserved battlefields of the Civil War.

In 1994 concerned local citizens formed the Brice's Crossroads National Battlefield Commission, Inc., to protect and preserve additional battlefield land. With assistance from the Civil War Preservation Trust (formerly the APCWS and the Civil War Trust), and the support of Federal, State, and local governments, the BCNBC, Inc. has purchased for preservation over 800 acres of the original battlefield.

The modern Bethany Presbyterian Church sits on the southeast side of the crossroads. At the time of the battle this congregation's meeting house was located further south along the Baldwyn Road. However, the Bethany Cemetery adjacent to the Park Service monument site predates the Civil War. Many of the area's earliest settlers are buried here. The graves of more than 90 Confederate soldiers killed in the battle are also located in this cemetery. Union dead from the battle were buried in common graves on the battlefield, but were later reinterred in the National Cemetery at Memphis, Tennessee.

The roads that form Brice's Crossroads lead to Baldwyn, Tupelo, Ripley, and Pontotoc, Mississippi. Tupelo is the county seat for historic Lee County, Mississippi. The roads, paved today, are still a major route into Lee, Prentiss, and Union counties, with thousands of cars traveling through the national battlefield to reach other destinations.
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