Be carefull driving in the dark. Tons of deer and wildlife.

I was at both sites last year. The Tupelo site is a grass lot about the size of a home site located on a major street. It has the cannon and limited information. There is no visitor’s center.

The battle site of Brice’s Crossroads is a few (10 to 20, I do not remeber exactly) miles north of Tupelo. It has a private or city-run visitor’s center which is small but nice.

The battle site is actually a series of markers along a rural road which describe the action. This was a fast moving action so there are no static lines, just continous movement of the armies. The crossroads is there.

However, he rarely seemed to let wounds or injuries get the better of him.

Dave Powell

Then there is the argument about whether Lee was premature or Forrest late in supporting the Kentuckians.

Overall, there is a huge unexplored gulf concerning what Lee and Forrest intended, if they agreed or not, and how they should proceed. Forrest bios tend to support the idea that NBF didn’t want to make the attack. Lee claimed (many years later) that Forrest was all for it. There is some evidence (Chalmers and Buford spring to mind, IIRC) that Forrest rebuked subordinates who expressed doubt and was publicly enthusiastic.

I think Tupelo makes an excellent contrast to Bryce’s, and highlights some of the problems that dog NBF’s career.

Of course, the Union opposition in each case is quite different, as well. Smith was not Sturgis, and – though cautious – was not about to make the kinds of mistakes Sturgis did.

I have been to both Tupelo and Bryce’s (though I hardly claim field expertise there) and found them interesting. Tupelo is a classic roadside postage stamp, with several monuments and cannon crammed in along a US Hwy without much explanation.

Looking forward to this new endeavor. I just picked up a copy of Bearss’ classic from Morningside a few months ago and I am sorry to hear it is out of print. Even harder to find is Bearss’ “The Tupelo campaign, June 22-July 23, 1864: A Documented Narrative & Troop Movement Maps” which was published by the Department of the Interior back in 1969, and which looks like a great start to any inquiry into the battle.

You may try author Michael B. Ballard for leads on arranging a tour. I don’t know him personally, but in addition to his Vicksburg studies and his Civil War Tour Guide of Mississipi he wrote an article back in 1996 entitled “The Battle of Tupelo: A Scholary Monograph” which was published in The Papers of the Blue and Gray Education Society. According to his biography, Ballard lives in nearby Ackerman, Mississippi. http://library.msstate.edu/msuauthors/mbb1/index.html

Unfortunately, I get the impression that the battlefield is comparable to Franklin without the the benefit of a Winstead Hill-like elevation for an overview or a Carnton to give an impression of the terrain. The park is located within the Tupelo city limits, and the CWPT lists it as too late to save. Pictures and maps of the the park seem to support this, and its always a bad sign when the NPS references a Wal-Mart to help you locate its park. http://www.civilwaralbum.com/misc/tupelo.htm
http://home.nps.gov/applications/parks/tupe/ppMaps/Web%20Tupelo%20Battlefield%2Ejpg

Best wishes!

Chris