Tupelo National Battlefield

"Today on our journey along the Natchez Trace Parkway from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee, we are visiting the Tupelo National Battlefield. This exhibit is located within the town of Tupelo, and is a little more than a mile off the parkway.

"The Tupelo Battlefield Exhibit is not as extensive as the Civil War battlefields at Vicksburg or Shiloh, but it is a monument to the Union and Confederate armies that fought at the Battle of Tupelo on July 14, 1864. The Federal forces under General Andrew J. Smith were the victors.

"The whole thing had to do with General Sherman's campaign against Atlanta. Union supply lines for Sherman's March were in danger of being cut off by the troops of Confederate General Forest in northern Mississippi. The Union sent General A. J. Smith down from the north with 14,000 troops and engaged 10,000 Confederate troops under General Steven B. Lee with a right flank commanded by Forest. The battle consisted of five attacks by the Confederates that day. They were unable to penetrate the Union defenses.

"Join us on our next program. When we will take a look at a Chickasaw Indian village, and a DA AR marker at Old Town overlook for Natchez Trace, a road through the wilderness. Line Frank Thomas."

For more about Natchez Trace: A Road Through the Wilderness, visit eddieandfrank.com