Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site | |
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Location | Lee County, Mississippi, United States |
Nearest city | Baldwyn |
Coordinates | 34°30′22.0″N88°43′44.0″W / 34.506111°N 88.728889°W |
Area | 1.00 acre (0.40 ha) [1] |
Established | February 21, 1929 |
Visitors | 2,035(in 1983) |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Website | Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site |
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site memorializes the Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, in which a U.S. Army force was defeated by a smaller Confederate force commanded by Major-General Nathan Bedford Forrest on June 10, 1864, but nonetheless secured Union supply lines between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The 1-acre site is a grassy park with a flagpole, a memorial monument, and two cannons. There are no visitor services; information is provided at the visitor center for the Natchez Trace Parkway 15 miles south. The monument and site are very similar to that at Tupelo National Battlefield.
The Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site, in Lee County, Mississippi, preserves the battlefield at Brices Cross Roads, which extended northward into southwestern Prentiss County. This is the spot where the Brice family house once stood. It is located about 6 miles (10 km) west of Baldwyn, on Highway 370. The site features a memorial erected soon after the battlefield was designated as a historic site in 1929. In addition, on June 11, 2005, a second memorial was dedicated to Confederate Capt. John W. Morton, Chief of Artillery, and his battery. Brices Cross Roads is the only component of the National Park System designated a "battlefield site".
The modern Bethany Presbyterian Church is located on the southeast side of the crossroads. At the time of the battle, this congregation's meeting house was located further south along Baldwyn Road. The Old Bethany Cemetery, adjacent to the battlefield site, predates the American Civil War. Many of the area's earliest settlers were buried there. The graves of more than 90 Confederate soldiers killed in the battle are also located in this cemetery. U.S. Army soldiers killed in the battle were buried in common graves on the battlefield but were later reinterred in the Memphis National Cemetery at Memphis, Tennessee.
The Brices Cross Roads Visitor Center, located in Baldwyn, is owned and operated by a public commission. Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Commission, Inc., formed in 1994 by residents, is also involved in protecting the greater battlefield. With assistance from the American Battlefield Trust and the support of federal, state, and local governments, the commission has purchased for preservation 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of the original battlefield. [2]
The site was established on February 21, 1929, and transferred from the United States Department of War to the National Park Service on August 10, 1933. The battlefield was automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. It is administered under the Natchez Trace Parkway.
The Battle of Brice's Cross Roads, also known as the Battle of Tishomingo Creek or the Battle of Guntown, was fought on Friday, June 10, 1864, near Baldwyn, Mississippi, then part of the Confederate States of America. A Federal expedition from Memphis, Tennessee, of 4,800 infantry and 3,300 cavalry, under the command of Brigadier-General Samuel D. Sturgis, was defeated by a Confederate force of 3,500 cavalry under the command of Major-General Nathan B. Forrest. The battle was a victory for the Confederates. Forrest inflicted heavy casualties on the Federal force and captured more than 1,600 prisoners of war, 18 artillery pieces, and wagons loaded with supplies. Once Sturgis reached Memphis, he asked to be relieved of his command.
Lee County is a county in U.S. state of Mississippi. At the 2020 census, the population was 83,343. Its county seat is Tupelo. Lee County is included in the Tupelo Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Tupelo is a city in and the county seat of Lee County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1860, the population was 37,923 at the 2020 census. It is the 7th most populous city in Mississippi and is considered a commercial, industrial, and cultural hub of northern Mississippi.
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The Natchez Trace Parkway is a limited-access national parkway in the Southeastern United States that commemorates the historic Natchez Trace and preserves sections of that original trail. Its central feature is a two-lane road that extends 444 miles (715 km) from Natchez, Mississippi, to Nashville, Tennessee. Access to the parkway is limited, with more than 50 access points in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. The southern end of the route is in Natchez at its intersection with Liberty Road, and the northern end is northeast of Fairview, Tennessee, in the suburban community of Pasquo, at an intersection with Tennessee State Route 100. In addition to Natchez and Nashville, larger cities along the route include Jackson and Tupelo, Mississippi, and Florence, Alabama.
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