My Visit to Nathan Bedford Forrest Territory!

James N.

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I recently returned from a vacation to Middle Tennessee and northern Mississippi that turned out somewhat unintentionally to have a Forrest theme or sub-theme. Flying to Nashville I joined @mkyzzzrdet who was already there and had himself visited Franklin and Stones River/Murfreesboro, each with their own Forrest associations. Together we headed west and then south; our first stop was Parker's Crossroads State Park, scene of Forrest's memorable order for his men to "Charge 'em both ways!" There we spent several hours in the visitor center and taking the battlefield driving tour, which ended with the stop above at the Union defense position; note the nice display telling about Forrest's life.

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Our intended destination however was Shiloh National Military Park where we spent an entire day walking the many trails and much of the "driving" tour. Although I didn't get any photos there directly relating to Forrest, one of the places we walked to and explored thoroughly was the Federal right flank along the Tennessee River and the Indian Mounds where (at least according to Shelby Foote's novel Shiloh) Forrest, then a colonel commanding a cavalry regiment, climbed the Great Mound in order to better see Don Carlos Buell's Federal Army of the Ohio being ferried across the river to reinforce Grant's battered army.

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Just south of the park we found the site of Forrest's rearguard action at Fallen Timbers against Sherman's pursuing Federals the day following the Confederate retreat. From there we continued on into Mississippi, staying at a bed-and-breakfast in Corinth and visiting the NPS Corinth Interpretive Center where we met NPS Ranger @TomP and listened to his talk on the October, 1862 battle there.

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Of course the centerpiece of any Forrest tour would have to be Brice's Crossroads where another "bucket list" item was crossed off! Here's a link to my thread about the battle: https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...-crossroads-june-10-1864.146870/#post-1833386

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Returning to Tennessee, our final stop was at Fort Donelson, scene of Forrest's memorable escape from the encircled garrison. We got through in the Corinth area early and so had a complete day to return to Nashville to catch our return flights, I suggested finding both Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park and across the Tennessee River Old Johnsonville State Park, both scene of one of Forrest's famous raids against Federal gunboats and supply center. However, when Mike saw how relatively near we were to Donelson and Dover, he preferred that, to which I readily agreed!
 
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Once again thanks for sharing all these photos! Wherever he was legendary, you seemed to have visited on your vacation, Forrest themed indeed.
Actually, we missed quite a few, places like Johnsonville, Memphis, and the notorious Fort Pillow in Tennessee; and scene of his defeat by Smith at Tupelo, Miss. Earlier this year, however, for the first time I visited the site of Reed's Bridge at Chickamauga where he brought on that particular battle:

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and scene of his defeat by Smith at Tupelo, Miss.
The Tupelo site is extremely underwhelming . . . as far as NPS sites go.

Actually there's nothing to see at the NPS site in Tupelo. The Monument is virtually identical to the one at Brice's Crossroads. From what I recall, there may be a couple of generic cannons there as well.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of interesting things to see and do in Tupelo, but this is not one of them.
 
The Tupelo site is extremely underwhelming . . . as far as NPS sites go.

Actually there's nothing to see at the NPS site in Tupelo. The Monument is virtually identical to the one at Brice's Crossroads. From what I recall, there may be a couple of generic cannons there as well.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of interesting things to see and do in Tupelo, but this is not one of them.
That pretty much explains - based on what we'd heard, plus being exhausted from the HEAT - why after we finished the tour there at Brice's Crossroads we decided to forgo Tupelo altogether and return to Corinth.
 
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he Tupelo site is extremely underwhelming . . . as far as NPS sites go.

Actually there's nothing to see at the NPS site in Tupelo. The Monument is virtually identical to the one at Brice's Crossroads. From what I recall, there may be a couple of generic cannons there as well.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of interesting things to see and do in Tupelo, but this is not one of them.

I would recommend visiting Tupelo with the "General's Tour" in the Blue & Gray Magazine "Final Stand In Mississippi - Tupelo; The Campaign and Battle 1864." The tour starts in LaGrange, TN and ends up at the Mississippi's Final Stands Interpretive Center in Baldwyn, MS. Although the core battlefield has been absorbed by the city there are still a number of great sites to visit.
The first photo is me up to my rear end in kudzu near the old crossing of the Tallahatchie River. There are 26 stops on the tour, 8 of them in Tupelo.

Tom

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James N. Thanks for the stroll down Gen N B Forrest lane. It brought back very found memories of my early days relic hunting the Forrest Trail. Finding his winter camp at Water Valley has eluded me for YEARS:banghead:

@7th Mississippi Infantry there used to be plenty to do in Tupelo, especially north east of town on the RR. That is where I found my first 2 CS Cav buckles in one of Forrset Cav camps in Saltillo. I just dug out some old North South Trader mags just to find this one. Even back then I couldn't keep my mouth shut. Found in Central Miss everybody knew where thats.:D

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