Randolph, Tennessee
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Hatchie River
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Fort Pillow, Tennessee

Randolph, Tennessee, also, Hatchie River, also, Fort Pillow, Tennessee. Mississippi River Walk. , A) Randolph, Tennessee , Mile 771.3 AHP, Randolph was the most important port in Tennessee during the early 1800s. Steamboat traffic, from both the Mississippi River and the Hatchie River, was bolstered by several stage roads which connected the town to the interior of the state. Randolph even overshadowed Memphis for a time. Memphis began to take the lead in the 1840s, when northern Mississippi opened for farming and major stage roads connected it to the west, and Randolph's merchants began moving south. During the U.S. Civil War, Union General Sherman burned Randolph. Railroads and highways later bypassed the remnants of the town. , B) Hatchie River , Mile 773.5 AHP, The Hatchie River area was set aside as a game preserve by the Chickasaws, and its abundant game insured their food supply. The river flows into the Mississippi River between the first two Chickasaw Bluffs, and it is believed yet that the French explorer, LaSalle, built the region's first European outpost, Fort Prudhomme, near the mouth of the Hatchie River. Flatboats and keelboats plied the river in the early 1800s and steamboats became common after 1828. Traffic on the Hatchie reached inland as far as Brownsville and Bolivar, Tennessee. In the 1840s, a canal was planned to connect the Hatchie and the Tennessee River, but the project was never begun. Railroad bridges built over the river in the late 1800s ended steamboat traffic. Rich forested bottom land still line much of the river, and the abundant fish and wildlife attract sportsmen to the area. , C) Fort Pillow, Tennessee , Mile 779.5 AHP, Fort Pillow was built on the Mississippi river bank in 1861 as part of the Confederate river defenses. After New Madrid and Island No. 10 were captured by Union forces, Fort Pillow became the last Confederate stronghold north of Memphis. Union gunboats bombarded the position for weeks, and Union victories inland threatened the fort from behind. Caught in the middle, the troops at Fort Pillow surrendered in June of 1862. The Union garrison that later occupied the fort was made up largely of African American troops. In 1864, Confederate cavalry under General N.B. Forrest recaptured the fort in a highly controversial battle. The garrison suffered heavy casualties. There were accusations that General Forrest, a former slave trader, had ordered a massacre. Later, the Mississippi River bypassed the Fort Pillow site, where there is now a small, rural community and a state park.