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My wife is currently visiting family in the Memphis area and tells me there's a place in Corinth, Mississippi called the Civil War Interpretive Center: apparently a National Park Service site.
Anyone been there?
Capt. Coxetter
Last edited by Capt Coxetter; 06-21-2007 at 07:34 PM.
Reason: typo
Heck Yeah!!! It is very nice and worth the visit. There is a driving tour you can follow. This is a VERY underrated battle of the war. Downtown Corinth is nice too. Jarnigan Supply is there if you are a reenact or. There is a nice bookshop. The historic houses are nice also. If you'd like some pics I can send you some. I have been there four times, twice before the center and twice with the center. If you are driving from Memphis and going to Corinth, LaGrange, TN is a very pretty and historic town. I think Sherman's HQ is there also and it's where Grierson started his raid. The houses are so southern...I'd live there in a minute!
__________________ I was gratified to be able to answer promptly. I said I don't know.
-Mark Twain
Heck Yeah!!! It is very nice and worth the visit. There is a driving tour you can follow. This is a VERY underrated battle of the war. Downtown Corinth is nice too. Jarnigan Supply is there if you are a reenact or. There is a nice bookshop. The historic houses are nice also. If you'd like some pics I can send you some. I have been there four times, twice before the center and twice with the center. If you are driving from Memphis and going to Corinth, LaGrange, TN is a very pretty and historic town. I think Sherman's HQ is there also and it's where Grierson started his raid. The houses are so southern...I'd live there in a minute!
30th, I'd love to see those pictures: either posted to our Forum, or privately at
I've been told it is a must see... a fine museum and a truly underrted battle. IMHO Iuka & Corinth were two of the most pivitol battles in the West. IMO they made the fall of Vicksburg not only possible but probable and made the confidence of the AoT & the western soldier of the Union the winning force of the Us during the CW.
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
Recently been there, done that, Shane. The Interpretive Center is indeed impressive and worth a visit but not a special trip. The primary ranger, Tom Parsons (calcav on another forum) is knowledgeable and an overall special person.
Battery Robinette is re-created at the location of the Interpretive Center. It's the spot, but not the original earthworks. For fans of the battle, there are bits and pieces of the area--a chunk of breastworks here and there, a tedious trip to visit a minor rear-guard action. Excuse me, please. I've never grasped the importance of that particular area so am biased against it. If you consider it pivotal, there are enough fragments of the battle-site to make it worth your while. But the place remains a pass-through -- not a destination. (I really hope calcav doesn't read this.)
By the way, our luck with the local restaurants wasn't good -- except for the totally charming waitress who told us they had just run out of biskits. (The next morning, we got some of the biskits, which were super, but the gravy sucked.) On a brighter note, there are chain-restaurants along the US 72 corridor.
Last note: If you go through Parker's Crossroads, don't bother stopping at Bailey's Restaurant. Sheesh. This is not Iowa food, folks. Mobile and I went three days without decent coffee or food. Probably bad choices. I can't believe that the locals eat that crap and love it. (They certainly have a place tucked away that we-uns don't get to eat at.)
But, I ramble. We were looking for some of that good southern cookin, and we either missed it or it wasn't there. Didn't get a good cuppa coffee until we got home.
Grump.
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
__________________ Few take the trouble to understand or to view the American scene with perspective. And we Americans love to find ourselves guilty of something. However, it is never I who am guilty, but those other Americans, the past or present government or the other political party. Americans almost never find other countries guilty. It is always ourselves or our fancied influence in other countries. Louis L'amour
I am suprised you didn't like Corinth, Ole. I do admit, like you, I hadn't a real appreciation for the battle but as you start learning more and more you realize that the battle cut the mail railways of the confederacy, much like Vicksburg cut the waterways. And, I suppose if one is looking for a battlefied like Shiloh, Gettysburg, Antietam, etc., one might be dissapointed but I have been to the "big" battlefields so much that the are routine; in fact when I last went to Shiloh I avoided the church, bloody pond, ruggles battery, honet's nest and walked thru the park off the beaten trail and found the "little things" of the battleground.
I like these unknown/super second areas of conflict such as Corinth, Parker's Crossroads, Champion Hill, Big Black, etc. You are correct in saying the downtown has no good restaurants (since the Cross City Grill closed) and the main eats are on 72. Did you try the local "slug burger" which is a local dish created in the depression? It's their version of a White Castle slider...but bigger and can be a real colon grenade! :-) They have their own sort of pulled pork that is unique, they top it with cole slaw on the pork. Good stuff. Right next to Parker's Crossroad is a resaurant called the Daisy Patch which is quite good a filled with civil war artifacts. Good BBQ there too! Corinth is a warm fuzzy for me and I'd go back again, but then again, I like nearly all the MS civil war sites. Beside VA, MS is THE place.
__________________ I was gratified to be able to answer promptly. I said I don't know.
-Mark Twain
Forgot to mention: took a road trip out to Davis Bridge--a battle during Van Dorn's retreat from Corinth. We managed to find it, in spite of the map -- Mississippi has fewer road signs than Tennessee, if that's possible. Hint, they sell a commemorative Blue & Gray magazine with a better map to the site than they hand out at the desk. After about 80 miles of very interesting backwoods scenery, topography, and quaint residences, we got back to Corinth.
If you are a fan of the battle, that drive is a must-see. Although we didn't do the second leg to where Van Dorn finally got past the Federals, it is also mapped out. Allow at least a half-day to do both.
On our last morning we headed out past the Interpretation Center to visit some purportedly pristine breastworks -- although it was supposed to be only a mile or so outside the Center, we never found them. No signs.
I'll stand by my initial post: unless you are particularly fascinated by the siege and battle at Corinth, it's not a destination--but well worth a stop.
__________________ I never knew a man who wished to be himself a slave. Consider if you know any good thing that no man desires for himself. A. Lincoln
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