Brice's Crossroads

General Nathan Bedford Forrest

The Battle of Brice's Crossroads was one of the most one-sided fights of the war. June 10, 1864 Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest brought his 4787 force to attack Brigadier General Samuel D.Sturgis and his 5000 infantry and 3000 cavalry near Baldwyn Mississippi. Forrest's men routed the Union forces, proving him to be one of the best generals of the war.

General William T. Sherman sent Sturgis with a force over 8000 into Mississippi and Alabama to destroy Forrest and his command. Forrest was a threat to Sherman’s supply line as Sherman moved toward Atlanta, and he wanted that threat eliminated.

Forrest figured the Union force was moving toward Tupelo Mississippi, so he moved to cut them off. He picked Brice's Crossroads for its rough roads and dense woods to offset the Union's numerical advantage. He would have his men attack the leading Yankee cavalry, which would force the trailing infantry to double-quick to the battle before recovering from the march. He figured the infantry would be too tired to fight.

The plan worked exactly as he had hoped. Around 10:30 a.m. on June 10, the cavalry forces engaged, and the Union infantry made a five-mile run in the southern heat and humidity to support the cavalry. In the afternoon, Forrest attacked all along the lines. His men even rolled cannon up close by hand.

At 3:30, the Confederate 2nd Tennessee Cavalry attacked the bridge across the Tishomingo. The attack failed, but it caused severe confusion among the Federal troops and Sturgis ordered a general retreat. With the Rebels still pressing, the retreat bottlenecked at the bridge and a panicked rout developed instead. The pursuit back to Memphis crossed six counties before the exhausted Confederates gave it up. Forrest captured huge supplies of arms, artillery, and ammunition as well as plenty of stores.

Forrest is a very controversial person. He was a slave trader before the war and a leader of the Ku Klux Klan after. However you may feel about the man, he was a great military leader. The late Shelby Foote, said the war greated to authentic geniuses, Lincoln and Forrest.

If you are in the area, it is worth the trip to Brices Crossroads Battlefield Site.

I've barely touched on this story. Please read more about it to get a better appreciation of Forrest the general.

Samuel Andrew Agnew was a local there, and he kept a splended diary. You must read this--it is simply great. I used it in my novel. He tells about the battle better than any historian. Read it, close your eyes, and you are there.

The battle is a big part in my novel, Chase The Wild Pigeons. My characters stayed there the night before with a local farmer. When they wake up the battle is already brewing. In this read you will see the battle from the civilian's point of view. You are more involved and dodging the bullets. My story is fiction, but I kept the battle as real as my research allowed.