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In February 1864, General William Sooy Smith led a force of over seven thousand cavalry on a raid into the Mississippi Prairie, bringing fire and destruction to one of the very few breadbaskets remaining in the Confederacy. Smith's raid was part of General William T. Sherman's campaign to march across Mississippi from Vicksburg to destroy the railroad junction at Meridian. Both Smith and Sherman intended to burn everything in their path that could aid in the Southern war effort. It was a harbinger of things to come in Georgia, South Carolina and the Shenandoah Valley. But neither reckoned with General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Forrest's small Confederate cavalry force defeated Smith in a running battle that stretched from West Point to Okolona and beyond. Forrest's victory prevented Smith from joining Sherman and saved the Prairie from total destruction. Join Civil War historian Brandon Beck as he narrates this exciting story, with all the realities and color of cavalry warfare in the Deep South. Also included is a brief guided tour of the extant sites, preserved for future generations by the Friends of the Battle of Okolona, Inc.
This book details the campaign in the Mississippi prairie in February of 1864, beginning with a look at the Prairie and the railroad. It covers the Union plans for the campaign, the Confederate plans for defense, and narrates the campaign from General William Sooy Smith's arrival in the Mississippi prairie to General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Confederate cavalry victory at Okolona, saving the Mississippi prairie from total destruction by fire. A walking, guided tour of extant, preserved sites is also included in this text.
Richard Wesley Cole was a seventh-generation American whose family got caught up in Americas Civil War. He enlisted as a foot soldier with the 3rd Mississippi State Infantry in October 1863 and, less than a year later, became a horseman with Georges Regiment, Mississippi Cavalry, which later became the 5th Mississippi Cavalry in General Nathan Bedford Forrests Cavalry Department. Richard proudly rode with Forrest until Richard was killed on 12 April 1864, at the Battle of Fort Pillow in Lauderdale County, Tennessee. Richards story is a history of his family, a partial history of the 5th Mississippi Cavalry, the 22nd Mississippi Infantry, and the 30th Mississippi Infantry, and is a history of the war itself seen through the eyes of Richard and his family. When news reached Black Hawk, Mississippi, that Confederate troops in South Carolina had fired on Fort Sumter, the men and boys of the village were excited about the possibility of war with the North and bragged that if war came, it wouldnt be long before the Yankees were defeated and sent scurrying back home. The men and boys misunderstood what war would be like, but Richards wife, Eliza, didnt and her worst fears would be realized as the war decimated her family. Eight days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, a volunteer state militia company was formed in Black Hawk. Richards oldest son, a son-in-law, and two future sons-in-law enlisted with the company. Richards second son ran away from home in February 1862 and joined the Confederate Army. Eight months later, Richard left home for the war. Richard and his family lived through the most tumultuous period in our Nations history. They experienced firsthand the hardships and horrors of a nation at war with itself and it affected them for the rest of their lives.
On February 21, 1864, Confederate and Union forces faced off over the banks of the Chuquatonchee Creek on Ellis Bridge in West Point, Mississippi. This three-hour battle pitted Nathan Bedford Forrest with his small but mighty cavalry against William Sooy Smith and his dogged Federal troops as they attempted to push through the prairie and destroy the railroad junction in Meridian. Smith's men did not succeed in their mission and suffered heavy casualties at the hands of Forrest in a precursor to the Battle of Okolona. Author John McBryde details the nuances of the battle that initiated Rebel opposition to the Meridian Campaign, including accounts from West Point locals of the time.
Published in association with the Blue & Gray Education Society.
The history of this unexpected Confederate victory in Civil War Mississippi, told through a collection of first-person soldier accounts. An insignificant crossroads in northeast Mississippi was an unlikely battleground for one of the most spectacular Confederate victories in the western theater of the Civil War. But that is where two generals determined destiny for their men. Union general Samuel D. Sturgis looked to redeem his past military record, while hard-fighting Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest aimed to drive the Union army out of Mississippi or die trying. In the hot June sun, their armies collided for control of north Mississippi in a story of courage, overwhelming odds, and American spirit. In this book, Stewart Bennett retells the day’s saga through a wealth of first-person soldier accounts. Includes photos
Discover the spine-chilling stories and local legends of this corner of the American South . . . Includes photos! Mississippi’s Golden Triangle is a major modern hub—but restless spirits of Native Americans, Civil War soldiers, and slaves also wander this region. Tales of a mysterious watchman who patrols the railroad tracks between Artesia and Mayhew haunt curious locals. Ed Kuykendall Sr. is rumored to manage Columbus’s Princess Theater from beyond the grave. A young girl who died while attempting to free her head from a stair banister is said to still walk the halls of Waverly. In this fascinating tour, author Alan Brown uncovers the eerie thrills and chills that are part of local history. “[Alan Brown’s] newest collection of stories involves a couple of places in Monroe County, namely the Gregg-Hamilton House in Aberdeen and the remains of the Gulf Ordnance Plant in Prairie . . . [In the Golden Triangle,] he found plentiful resources of historical information.” —Monroe Journal
Drawing on six years of research, this book covers the military service and postwar lives of notable Confederate veterans who moved into Northern California at the end the Civil War. Biographies of 101 former rebels are provided, from the oldest brother of the Clanton Gang to the son of a President to plantation owners, dirt farmers, criminals and everything in between.
In the spring of 1863, Union colonel Abel D. Streight sought to raid and destroy parts of the vital span of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in north Georgia with his mule-riding infantry brigade. Determined to thwart the potentially deadly attack, Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest fervently pursued Streight's forces. With the help of unlikely ally fifteen-year-old Emma Sansom of Gadson, Alabama, Forrest falsely convinced Streight he was vastly outnumbered, foiled the raid and forced Streight's surrender. Brandon H. Beck details Streight's dubious plan and the exciting story of a running battle between hunter and quarry that colors history from the hills of northeast Mississippi to the heart of Georgia.
The commander of the three-hundred-wagon Union supply train never expected a large ragtag group of Texans and Native Americans to attack during the dark of night in Union-held territory. But Brigadier Generals Richard Gano and Stand Watie defeated the unsuspecting Federals in the early morning hours of September 19, 1864, at Cabin Creek in the Cherokee nation. The legendary Watie, the only Native American general on either side, planned details of the raid for months. His preparation paid off--the Confederate troops captured wagons with supplies that would be worth more than $75 million today. Writer, producer and historian Steve Warren uncovers the untold story of the last raid at Cabin Creek in this Jefferson Davis Historical Gold Medal-winning history.