Friday 19 October 2018

Tennessee Battlefield Tour Day 5 : ACW

Well the internet connections continued to be a challenge and with cycling I was just too busy to post each day........hence my delay in getting these posts up but I will do my best to load them in order. So Day 5 saw me head south from Shiloh to Corinth Mississippi and beyond. Fought over more than once and the target railway junction which had triggered the Shiloh campaign.
Under the control of the same National Park as Shiloh there are potential locations spread over a very wide area, some of these are simply trenches which formed part of the Rebel and then attacking union lines as they advanced. You would need a lot of time to study them all.
The visitor centre at Corinth is definately worth a visit with some excellent films and a small museum, it is built on the site of the reconstructed battery Robinett, famously over run during the battles in October 1862 when the rebels sought to recapture Corinth.
Some unique rebel flags

There are other sites within close distance of Corinth, this is Battery F, not hugely impressive at least very hard to photograph but it is quite large and must have taken a lot of digging to create. This was the scene of fearce fighting when over run by rebels looking to recapture the town October 1862
There are a number of period buildings in Corinth, the only one I visited was the Verrandah house, very unique building which served as the HQ for both sides at different times.
They had a nice period photo of the house when it was used as the Federal HQ. But according to the guide this front room is where the decision was taken by Johnston to attack at Shiloh
The cross roads, I did pop into the small museum in the old railway office but it wasn’t really upto much
The beauty of independent travel is the ability to flex a bit so I headed further south into Mississippi to a battle I knew nothing about. Brice’s Cross Roads. Some of you will know the battle much better than I did. Famous for the bold attack made by the rebel forces under Nathan Bedford Forrest.
There is another excellent visitor centre (some of these places are so quiet!)
Just a flavour of the visitor centre
Surprisingly the first diorama I had found showing the action around the cross roads 
The vieweast to where the first rebel attacks cam from I am stood roughly on the line of the second Union position
Plenty of markers showing aspects of the battle even though it was relatively small
The memorial I am stood on the cross roads looking north
Again looking east
Slightly further north this is the site where the union forces started to be outflanked on the left, the land drops away to the left
Down to the Thishomingo river and the reconstructed bridge that the Federals used to attempt escape, this I definately a battle we will see in the future in the dungeon.
I thought about heading down to Tupelo but decided to cut across to the Nachez Parkway again and get another bike ride in πŸ˜€

9 comments:

  1. Excellent photos and beautiful weather. I would a enjoy a visit to Corinth too. Good to see you out cycling while on holiday. Did you rent a bike for the duration? How many miles have you been logging? Fall has been particularly pleasant in the Pacific NW this year too. I have been out putting in some miles too.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan yes weather has been great apart from one day. The bike was rented in advance from a bike shop in Nashville worked out brilliantly. I have been slightly obsessed so managed to get out everyday apart from the Shiloh day. Between the travelling and battlefields I have managed about 180 miles. The longest being 31 near fort Donelson, the shortest 12 in the rain in Nashville the hilliest being a slog (for me) up look out mountain. But now I am ahead of the blog πŸ˜›

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  2. I am really enjoying this vicarious tour of sites I've not visited. I may have to consider planning a visit. You have inspired me! Keep up the excellent work!

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    1. Thanks David it is of course mainly a memory log for me but if it encourages others then all to the good. Happy to provide any advice in more detail if I can πŸ™‚

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  3. Looking great. Thank You for a photos ;)

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  4. Lovely photos and commentary! Thanks for that.
    Best Iain

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