Last updated: May 11, 2021
Place
Tour Stop #1 - First Shots of the Battle of Brices Cross Roads
NPS Photo
Quick Facts
Location:
Mississippi Hwy 370, west of Baldwyn, MS
Significance:
Tour Stop #1 at Brices Cross Roads
Designation:
National Battlefield Site
MANAGED BY:
Amenities
3 listed
Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Wheelchair Accessible
This monument was erected by the State of Mississippi in 1957. It represents the beginning of the Battle of Brices Cross Roads. The first shots of the battle took place in this location between the Federal Cavalry represented by the 4th Missouri and the Confederate cavalry represented by the 7th Tennessee.
During the battle the road you drive on which is now Mississippi highway 370 was a winding dirty and muddy road surrounded by a blackjack oak forest. If you are looking at the historical marker the Federal cavalry rode in from your left while the Confederate cavalry came from your right. The federal troopers feel back close to Brices Cross Roads and formed a skirmish line to stop the confederate attack.
The inscription on the historical markers reads as follows:
"FIRST SHOTS OF
THE BATTLE OF
BRICE'S CROSSROADS
WERE FIRED HERE
AT 9:30
MORNING OF
JUNE 10, 1864
SCOUTS FROM GENERAL
NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST'S
7TH TENNESSEE (CONFEDERATE)
MET SCOUTS FROM GENERAL SAMUEL D. STURGIS' 4TH
MISSOURI (FEDERAL)
ERECTED BY ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE OF
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
J.P. COLEMAN GOVERNOR
1957"
The Brice's Crossroads Battlefield main battlefield site is managed by the Mississippi Final Stands Visitor and Interpretative Center in Baldwyn, Mississippi.
During the battle the road you drive on which is now Mississippi highway 370 was a winding dirty and muddy road surrounded by a blackjack oak forest. If you are looking at the historical marker the Federal cavalry rode in from your left while the Confederate cavalry came from your right. The federal troopers feel back close to Brices Cross Roads and formed a skirmish line to stop the confederate attack.
The inscription on the historical markers reads as follows:
"FIRST SHOTS OF
THE BATTLE OF
BRICE'S CROSSROADS
WERE FIRED HERE
AT 9:30
MORNING OF
JUNE 10, 1864
SCOUTS FROM GENERAL
NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST'S
7TH TENNESSEE (CONFEDERATE)
MET SCOUTS FROM GENERAL SAMUEL D. STURGIS' 4TH
MISSOURI (FEDERAL)
ERECTED BY ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE OF
THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
J.P. COLEMAN GOVERNOR
1957"
The Brice's Crossroads Battlefield main battlefield site is managed by the Mississippi Final Stands Visitor and Interpretative Center in Baldwyn, Mississippi.