Corinth

Located at the junction of two critically important railroads, the Memphis and Charleston and the Mobile and Ohio, Corinth was a military prize from the early days of the war. The Union campaign in early April 1862 that was halted momentarily by the Battle of Shiloh (at Pittsburg Landing) was aimed at Corinth.

Following Shiloh, a huge Union army group began a slow and methodical march toward Corinth, 22 miles south. Confederates in Corinth, tending their wounded from the battle in vast hospitals, evacuated the heavily fortified railroad town May 29–30.

With the fall of Corinth, two major rail “trunk lines” connecting all parts of the Confederacy were cut. The Confederates tried to retake Corinth later that year but were defeated in a bloody battle Oct. 3–4. Union troops occupied Corinth until they left in late January 1864. They burned most of the public buildings and dismantled the railroads.

An estimated 300,000 soldiers from both sides passed through Corinth during the war. The town played host to more than 200 Confederate and Union generals. Many of the town’s Civil War-era buildings remain, including homes used by commanding generals. The site of a large “Contraband Camp” for ex-slaves, the location of many extant Union earthworks, and the famous rail crossing itself are all part of walking and driving tours of the town.

Corinth Interpretive Center (NPS)
501 W Linden St, Corinth MS 38834
662-287-9660
 Road map 
   The thoroughly modern National Park Service interpretive center is located near the site of Battery Robinette, a key Union fort assaulted during the October 1862 battle here. Multi-media presentations explain the Battles of Shiloh and Corinth, and exhibits detail the importance of Corinth during the Civil War and the many roles this small town played. A full-scale model of a field fortification and a monument at the site of the historic battery stand just outside the 15,000-square-foot visitor facility.
   Pick up maps and other information here about Corinth-area Civil War sites and tours of the Corinth Campaigns sites (April/May, September/October).
This site is administered by the Shiloh National Military Park (link). Be sure to request material for a special historic tour between the two sites.
    Open daily 8:30 am-4:30 pm. Free.

Baldwyn

Battle of Brice’s Crossroads
Visitor Center
607 Grisham St, Baldwyn MS 38824
(Near the junction of Route 370 and US 45).
662-365-3969
 Road map 
   In early June 1864 Confederate Gen. N.B. Forrest was ordered to Tennessee to disrupt Union Gen. William T.  Sherman’s campaign against Atlanta by attacking his long and tenuous supply line. Sherman responded by sending a cavalry force of his own into Northern Mississippi, hoping to force Forrest to turn back. The plan worked. Forrest turned around and attacked that Federal cavalry under Gen. Samuel Stugis at Brice’s Crossroads. The battle here July 10, 1864, was a decisive Confederate victory. But it succeeded for the Federals in another way: It drew Forrest away from Sherman’s supply line.
    The visitor center features the permanent exhibit “Forrest’s Finest Hour,” a film, artifact display and a battlefield model. Open Tuesday–Saturday 9 am–5 pm, Sunday 12:30–5 pm. $3/adults.

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
Route 370, west of Brice’s Crossroads Visitor Center, Baldwyn MS 38824
    A small NPS site on the battlefield, managed by the Natchez Trace Parkway, is located west of the visitor center on Route 370. The site offers interpreted walking trails and a church and cemetery present during the battle. Not staffed by NPS. A brochure on the battle is available at the Trace Parkway visitor center in Tupelo, but much more is available at the visitor center (see above).

Tupelo

Tupelo National Battlefield
One-acre monument site located on Main Street (Route 6), Tupelo MS
 Road map 
   Needing to keep Confederate Gen. N.B. Forrest away from his supply lines during his campaign against Atlanta in 1864, Sherman was determined either to destroy the famed horseman or to keep him occupied in Mississippi. Following Forrest’s decisive victory at Brice’s Crossroads, Sherman sent a much larger Union force under Gen. Andrew Smith after him. After days of maneuvering toward the Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Smith occupied a strong position in Tupelo. The Confederates attacked there July 14 but failed to dislodge the Federals. A running battle followed the next day as both forces moved west of town toward Memphis. The result of the battle was inconclusive, but Forrest remained cooped up in Mississippi and away from Sherman’s supply lines. Among the casualties here was Forrest himself, who was wounded.
   A small park/monument marks the site of one of the hot spots during the July 14 battle, the Confederate attack on the Union right flank.
   There are no visitor facilities at the site itself, but information about the battle and other Civil War resources (including Brices Cross Roads) along the parkway can be found at the visitor center for the Natchez Trace Parkway located at MP 266 near the intersection of Route 145 and the Parkway in Tupelo. Visitor center open 8 am-5 pm (CT) daily. Free.

The Tupelo National Battlefield site is administered by the Natchez Trace Parkway, 800-305-7417.

Columbus

Friendship Cemetery
Fourth Street S, Columbus MS 39701
662-328-4164
 Road map 
    Burial place of four Confederate generals, including S.D. Lee, and more than 2,000 other Southern soldiers. This is one of the claimants to the site of the first Memorial Day. Ladies decorated Union and Confederate graves here April 25, 1866.

Other Columbus Civil War-related sites are described in an audio tour available on www.columbus-ms.org.

Website links to Mississippi places: Mississippi Links