Small Brice's Crossroads National Battlefield Park at Baldwyn MS preserves the site of an important Confederate victory over Union Forces during the Western Campaign of 1864.
From the National Park Service website: (
visit link)
"Winning the Battle, Losing the War
The Confederate victory at Brices Cross Roads was a significant victory for Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, but its long term effect on the war proved costly for the Confederates. Brices Cross Roads is an excellent example of winning the battle, but losing the war.
There is more to Brices Cross Roads than just the monument site.
Why the Battle Happened
In 1863 Federal armies won important victories at Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and Chattanooga. In the spring of 1864 the Federal mission was to bisect the South from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Atlantic coast at Savannah, Georgia. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman wanted to destroy the Confederate Army led by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston and occupy Atlanta along the way as he executed his “March to the Sea.”
Sherman knew that his plan was vulnerable. To supply his large troop movement into north Georgia, he depended on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. This line could be most threatened by the excellent horseman of Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry corp. Sherman needed to keep Forrest in north Mississippi.
On June 1 Forrest put his 3,500 horsemen in motion at Tupelo, headed for Tennessee. By June 4 they had reached Russellville, Alabama. Meanwhile, a concerned Sherman ordered Brig. Gen. Samuel D. Sturgis and a force of 8,100 to move out of Memphis and threaten north Mississippi in hopes of drawing Forrest away from Sherman’s much needed railroad in Tennessee. It worked! Forrest was ordered by Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Lee to return to Tupelo. On the evening of June 9, Forrest learned that Sturgis’s forces were camped about 10 miles northwest of Brices Cross Roads. Both commanders knew that the next day would bring battle.
The Battle
Sturgis's army moved out at dawn on June 10, 1864, headed southeast, the cavalry in the lead (1). About a half-mile east of the crossroads (2) the lead elements of the Federal cavalry met the Confederate Kentucky brigade about 9:30 a.m. and the battle began. By 11:00 a.m. Forrest, now reinforced, began to push the Federals back toward the crossroads. The Federal horsemen held out long enough for infantry reinforcement. Having formed an arcing battle line around the crossroads (3), the two forces battled for the next 4 hours. By 5 p.m., after enveloping both Federal flanks and launching a slashing frontal attack, Forrest had shattered Sturgis's line, forcing the Federals to retreat back toward Memphis (4). An overturned wagon at the Tishomingo Creek bridge slowed the Federal retreat and resulted in the loss of 16 artillery pieces and supply wagons containing guns and ammunition. Thanks to a series of defensive actions by a brigade of United States Colored Troops, most of Sturgis's army was able to escape almost certain capture.
Directions
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site can be found 15 miles north of Tupelo, Mississippi. Exit U.S. Highway 45 onto Mississippi 370, in Baldwyn, Mississippi. The battlefield is located 6 miles west of Baldwyn, on Mississippi 370. Visitors may also consider visiting the Mississippi's Final Stands Interpretive Center in Baldwyn. Exit U.S. Highway 45 at Mississippi 370 and turn east. Take the first right off of Highway 370 to the interpretive center. For more information, contact the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center in Tupelo, at 1-800-305-7417."