Morton's Battery

Morton's Battery, part of Forrest's Artillery under John W. Morton, Jr., General N.B. Forrest's chief of artillery and the Confederacy's youngest artillery captain, fought at the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10, 1864, with four three inch rifled cannon. 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. 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 drew back toward Tishamingo 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, and as the Federals emerged from the creek, Forrest's artillery played upon them for half a mile, killing or disabling large numbers.

Guntown, Mississippi · United States