Interpretive Sites

In the summer of 1864, as Union general William T. Sherman began his campaign to capture Atlanta, Georgia, he sought to protect his fragile supply line in Tennessee from Confederate raiders by ordering Union troops out of Memphis to occupy General Nathan Bedford Forrest in northeast Mississippi and keep him away from Tennessee. These operations led to multiple Federal expeditions into the area, including the Battle of Brice's Crossroads on June 10 and the Battle of Tupelo, also frequently called the Battle of Harrisburg, on July 13-15. Brice's Crossroads ended in a humiliating Union defeat, while Tupelo brought a convincing yet incomplete Union victory. Forrest survived the campaign wounded but alive, and although his cavalry corps was crippled rather than destroyed, the Union achieved its primary objective by holding Forrest's cavalry in Mississippi until after Sherman had won a major victory in Atlanta.

Baldwyn, Mississippi · United States