Palo Alto (also Savannah) is a

ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...

Clay County, Mississippi Clay County is a county in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,634. Its county seat is West Point. Its name is in honor of American statesman Henry Clay, member of the United States Senate from Kentucky a ...

, United States. Established c. 1846, it is located at (33.6806738, -88.8000525) at an elevation of 279 feet (85 m).

History

Palo Alto was named in honor of the

Battle of Palo Alto The Battle of Palo Alto ( es, Batalla de Palo Alto) was the first major battle of the Mexican–American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles (8 km) from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas. A force of som ...

. The Palo Alto Academy was once located in Palo Alto. A carriage factory, general store, and the Palo Alto Inn were formerly in operation in Palo Alto. The community was prosperous prior to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, but was absorbed into the nearby community of Abbott after the Civil War. A post office operated under the name Palo Alto from 1846 to 1898. Company F of the 44th Mississippi Infantry was known as The Palo Alto Confederates and was mustered into service on July 27, 1861 in Palo Alto. Soldiers from this company served with the

Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. It was formed in late 1862 and fought until the end of the war in 1865, participating i ...

in many battles, including Shiloh, Munfordville,

Murfreesboro Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

, and

Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to: Entertainment * "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce * "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe * "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne (album), Ano ...

. During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought in Palo Alto on April 21 and 22, 1863 between the 2nd/22nd Tennessee Cavalry (Barteau's) and the

2nd Iowa Volunteer Cavalry Regiment The 2nd Iowa Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 2nd Iowa Cavalry was recruited in the following counties and organized at Davenport, Iowa they mustered in at Camp Joe Ho ...

. The Iowa soldiers, under the command of

Edward Hatch Edward Hatch (December 22, 1832 – April 11, 1889) was a career American soldier who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. After the war, he became the first commander of the 9th U.S. Cavalry Regiment, a buffalo so ...

, were part of

Grierson's Raid Grierson's Raid was a Union cavalry raid during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. It ran from April 17 to May 2, 1863, as a diversion from Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's main attack plan on Vicksburg, Mississippi. Background Earl ...

and were being used to distract

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

soldiers from Grierson's main column. After the skirmish Hatch's soldiers marched to Okolona, burning down barracks, a cotton warehouse, and ammunition stores. Six

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

soldiers were declared missing after the skirmish. In 1876, Palo Alto was the site of an incident in which a group of heavily armed white men brought a piece of field artillery and broke up a meeting of the Republican Club in order to suppress black voters. In 1987, the townsite was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

under the name of "Town of Palo Alto." Nearly were listed on the Register as part of the community.

References

Former populated places in Clay County, Mississippi Ghost towns in Mississippi Populated places established in 1846 1846 establishments in Mississippi National Register of Historic Places in Clay County, Mississippi Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Mississippi {{Mississippi-NRHP-stub