The Battle of Parker's Cross Roads (now Crossroads) was fought on December 31, 1862, in

Henderson County, Tennessee Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with its county seat in Lexington, and with a population of 27,842 as of the 2020 census. The county was founded in 1821 and named after James Henderson, a soldier in the ...

, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Background

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

Brig. Gen.

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

's expedition into West Tennessee neared its conclusion, Union Brig. Gen. Jeremiah C. Sullivan, with the brigades of Cols. Cyrus L. Dunham and John W. Fuller, attempted to cut Forrest off from withdrawing across the

Tennessee River The Tennessee River is a long river located in the Southern United States, southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. Flowing through the states of Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, it begins at the confluence of Fren ...

Battle

Dunham and Forrest's march routes brought them into contact at Parker's Crossroads on December 31, 1862. Skirmishing began about 9 am, with Forrest taking an initial position along a wooded ridge northwest of Dunham at the intersection. Confederate

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

gained an early advantage. Dunham pulled his brigade back a half-mile and redeployed, facing north. His Federals repelled frontal feints until attacked on both flanks and rear by Forrest's mounted and dismounted troops. During a lull, Forrest sent Dunham a demand for an unconditional surrender. Dunham refused and was preparing for Forrest's next attack, when Fuller's Union brigade arrived from the north and surprised the Confederates with an attack on their rear; Confederate security detachments had failed to warn of Fuller's approach. "Charge 'em both ways," ordered Forrest. The Confederates briefly reversed front, repelled Fuller, then rushed past Dunham's demoralized force and withdrew south to

Lexington, Tennessee Lexington is a city in Henderson County, Tennessee, United States. It is midway between Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, lying south of Interstate 40, which connects the two cities. Its population was 7,956 at the ...

Aftermath

After the fight, Forrest was able to cross the Tennessee River. Both sides claimed this battle as a victory, but the Confederate forces withdrew and suffered greater casualties.

Battlefield preservation

The land upon which the Battle of Parker's Crossroads took place is now traversed east and west by Interstate 40 and north and south by Tennessee State Route 22, located midway between Memphis and Nashville. The nearby town has grown considerably since the interstate highway opened in the late 1960s. Developers and investors are constantly looking at the battlefield area for business development, making preservation efforts particularly urgent. About 368 acres of the battlefield have been saved thus far, all by the

American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization (501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the American Civil War, through the acquisition of battlefield lan ...

in consort with its partners, including a local group, the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Association. In 2011, the trust inaugurated a campaign to preserve what is called the "keystone tract", the final unpreserved piece of land from the old battlefield. Most of the Confederate artillery was located on this 52-acre parcel. Many preservationists believe that if this land falls into the hands of commercial developers, the ability to interpret the battlefield in a meaningful way will be lost. It has been an affiliated area of the

Shiloh National Military Park Shiloh National Military Park preserves the American Civil War Shiloh and Corinth battlefields. The main section of the park is in the unincorporated community of Shiloh, about south of Savannah, Tennessee, with additional areas located ...

since 2019.https://www.nps.gov/shil/learn/news/nps-and-parker-s-crossroads-to-sign-agreement.htm

References

External links

National Park Service battle descriptionThe Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Association

timelines The Battle of Parker's Crossroads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker's Cross Roads Parker's Cross Roads Parker's Cross Roads Parker's Cross Roads Henderson County, Tennessee 1862 in the American Civil War 1862 in Tennessee December 1862