Confederate Artillery Position

Confederate artillery stood west of this position near the present course of SR 22, with a battery supported by Major Nicholas N. Cox's battalion placed to strike the west flank of the Union line held by the 39th Iowa. Forrest also placed artillery on a small rise east of the Union position so that concentrated fire enfiladed both flanks, while guns north of the Union line bombarded its front. The sustained shelling pinned Federal troops behind a split-rail fence, and under that cover Forrest moved mounted and dismounted troops around and behind the Union line, leading to a surprise attack on the Federal rear that split the force into two isolated positions. Much of the punishing fire was canister, a highly destructive close-range projectile, though field artillery also used solid shot, spherical shot, common shell, and case shot, while grape shot, often mentioned in letters and reports, was more typical of siege and heavier weapons than the field pieces at Parker's Crossroads.

Parker's Crossroads, Tennessee · United States