Parkers Crossroads in Henderson County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
Freeman's Battery
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, June 15, 2025
1. Freeman's Battery Marker
"Brass 12 & 6 pounders are in the habit of chawing up and spitting out when vile men with malice of afterthought will pull their tails."
Corp. Lucius B. Corbin, 122nd Illinois
"Open immediately upon them"
When the Union line withdrew to the split-rail fence, General Nathan Bedford Forrest shifted his artillery, creating an arc around the new Union position. Captain Samuel Freeman moved his batterytwo 6-pounder bronze smoothbores and two bronze 12-pounder howitzerseast, placing it on the flank of the Union line. Gunner Nat Baxter later recalled that Forrest "told me to open immediately upon them."
Freeman's guns joined Lieutenant John Morton's two guns in the center and two mountain howitzers on the west, keeping up a deadly barrage on the Federals. Private W.H. Peter, 122nd Illinois, wrote a few days later: "They [Freeman's guns] were planted on a ridge within full view & had we not lain down while we were there many more must have been killed." Though rattled, the shaky Union line at the fence did not break.
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Captain Samuel L. Freeman
Samuel Freeman began his service as a 2nd Lieutenant in the 11th Tennessee Artillery Corps of the Provisional Army of Tennessee. He received a commission in the Confederate
this page online
In July 1862, the battery was reorganized as Freeman's Battery, and Freeman promoted to captain. In October, the battery joined General Nathan Bedford Forrest's command.
Forrest abandoned some of his artillery when Union reinforcements arrived at Parker's Crossroads, but it is thought that Freeman's Battery escaped the battlefield. Captain Samuel Freeman served with Forrest until April 10, 1863, when he was killed by Union cavalry at Franklin, Tennessee.
Erected 2015 by Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Association.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical date for this entry is December 31, 1862.
Location. 35° 47.221′ N, 88° 23.107′ W. Marker is in Parkers Crossroads, Tennessee, in Henderson County. It can be reached from Federal Lane 0.2 miles east of Tennessee Route 22, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located along the South Battlefield Trail, at Auto Tour Stop No. 7 of the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Auto Tour. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wildersville TN 38388, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in West Tennessee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Upper South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: A Concealed Assault (a few steps from this marker); Casualties of War (within shouting distance of this marker); A Dogged Defense
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 24, 2021
2. Freeman's Battery Marker
Also see . . . Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Association. (Submitted on May 29, 2021.)
Photographed by Shane Oliver, April 3, 2021
3. Freeman's Battery Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 13, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 28, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 291 times since then and 18 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on July 11, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 2. submitted on July 24, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 3. submitted on May 28, 2021, by Shane Oliver of Richmond, Virginia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
