Interpretive Sites

Interpretive Sites. Battle of Brice's Crossroads . June 10, 1864 , Battle of Tupelo . July 13-15, 1864. , Welcome to the Mississippi's Final Stands Interpretive Center. After visiting our museum gallery, we hope that you will tour the Brice's Crossroads and Tupelo battlefields for yourself, with the help of our audio tour and roadside signage. , , The terrain of the Brice's Crossroads battlefield is remarkably well preserved, allowing you to imagine easily what the Federal and Confederate troops saw and experienced on June 10, 1864. Preservation of the landscape at Brice's Crossroads is the result of ongoing efforts by the Civil War Trust and other public and private partners. , , While the city of Tupelo has grown and absorbed much of the battlefield from the Battle of Tupelo (also frequently called the Battle of Harrisburg), the Civil War Trust has acquired and preserved the July 15, 1864 skirmish site at the Old Town Creek. , , Follow the route marked on this map; there will be signs pointing the way. Stop at the marked pull-offs to read the panels and learn more about this chapter in Mississippi's history. , , As Union general William T. Sherman began his campaign to capture Atlanta, Georgia, he made plans to ensure that his fragile supply line in Tennessee would not be cut by Confederate raiders. To this end he ordered Union troops sent out of Memphis to occupy General Nathan Bedford Forrest in northeast Mississippi. The goal was to keep Forrest out of Tennessee and away from Sherman's supply lines. If Forrest could be defeated in the field, all the better. , , In the summer of 1864 Federal troops made multiple treks into this area, resulting in the Battle of Brice's Crossroads (June 10) and the Battle of Tupelo (July 13-15). The first was a humiliating defeat for the Union; the second, a convincing yet incomplete victory. Forrest emerged wounded but alive, his cavalry corps crippled but not destroyed. The Union did, however, accomplish the primary goal of keeping Forrest's cavalry in Mississippi until after Sherman had claimed a major victory in Atlanta.