Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Brices Cross RoadsNational Battlefield Site |
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Battle of Brices Cross Roads Memorial in 2010
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 Brices Cross Roads
National Battlefield Site Location in Mississippi
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| Location | Lee County, Mississippi, United States |
| Nearest city | Baldwyn |
| Area | 1.00 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Established | February 21, 1929 |
| Visitors | 2,035 (in 1983) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site |
The Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site is a special place that remembers an important battle from the American Civil War. This battle happened on June 10, 1864. During this fight, a group of U.S. Army soldiers was defeated by a smaller Confederate force. The Confederate soldiers were led by Major-General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Even though the U.S. Army lost the battle, they still managed to protect their important supply routes. These routes connected Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Today, the site is a small, grassy park. It is only about one acre in size. You will find a flagpole, a memorial monument, and two cannons there. There are no visitor services directly at the site. However, you can find information at the Natchez Trace Parkway visitor center, which is about 15 miles south. This site is very similar to the Tupelo National Battlefield.
Exploring the Battlefield Site
The Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site is located in Lee County, Mississippi. It helps to protect the area where the Battle of Brices Cross Roads took place. The battle also spread into parts of Prentiss County. This is the exact spot where the Brice family house once stood. You can find it about 6 miles (10 km) west of Baldwyn, right on Highway 370.
The site has a memorial that was put up shortly after it became a historic site in 1929. Later, on June 11, 2005, another memorial was added. This one honors Confederate Captain John W. Morton and his artillery unit. Brices Cross Roads is unique because it is the only place in the National Park System called a "battlefield site."
The modern Bethany Presbyterian Church stands near the crossroads today. When the battle happened, the church's meeting house was further south. The Old Bethany Cemetery is next to the battlefield site. It was there even before the Civil War. Many of the first settlers in the area are buried there. You can also find the graves of more than 90 Confederate soldiers who died in the battle. U.S. Army soldiers who were killed were first buried in common graves on the battlefield. Later, their remains were moved to the Memphis National Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Brices Cross Roads Visitor Center is in Baldwyn. A public group owns and runs this center. The Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Commission, Inc., was started in 1994 by local people. This group also works to protect more of the original battlefield. With help from the American Battlefield Trust and government support, the commission has bought about 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of the battlefield to preserve it.
How the Site Was Protected
The Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site was officially created on February 21, 1929. It was first managed by the United States Department of War. Then, on August 10, 1933, it was moved to the National Park Service. The battlefield was automatically added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. Today, the Natchez Trace Parkway helps to manage it.
See also
