9 Acres At Parker's Crossroads Saved
By Gregory L. Wade
Feb./March 2005

PARKER'S CROSSROADS, Tenn. - With help from the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), the Parker's Crossroads Battlefield Association (PCBA) recently closed on nine acres of core battlefield property located in this small West Tennessee community.

According to CWPT spokesman Jim Campi the $272,000 for purchase and associated administrative fees came from five entities: $17,000 from the CWPT; $55,000 from the Tennessee Lands Acquisition Fund; $70,000 in federal TEA-21 transportation enhancement funds; $40,000 from the Tennessee Wars Commission; and a $90,000 American Battlefield Protection Program Civil War Battlefield Preservation Program matching grant. The tract was bought from Charles Youngerman.

About a 90-minute drive east from Memphis, the battlefield land, which is adjacent to Interstate 40, includes the burial sites of several Union soldiers. Twenty-nine bodies were exhumed in 1867 and moved to the Corinth National Cemetery in Corinth, Miss., and the remainder were only recently found.

The purchase brings the total amount of battle land saved to 180 acres. The PCBA seeks to save an additional 100 acres of core battlefield in the near future.

The newest tract, part of which was formerly a mobile home sales lot, will be taken back to its wartime appearance.

"The fence lines haven't changed since the battle," says Steve McDaniel, first president of the PCBA. "We only have to remove the gravel surface and rebuild the fencing where the Union lines were positioned in that part of the battle." The surrounding land is hay fields and there are no other commercial ventures on the desired properties, he added.

The 1862 Battle of Parker's Crossroads involved troops of Confederate Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's cavalry who, because of faulty scouting reports, found themselves virtually surrounded. Union Brig. Gen. Jeremiah Sullivan was attempting to cut Forrest off from withdrawing across the Tennessee River. When warned of Union brigades to his rear, Forrest uttered the now famous command, "Charge them both ways." They did and the unconventional command saved the general's troops from a very tight spot.

Today, the little hamlet is much like it was during the war. The well where fatigued and injured soldiers on both sides refreshed themselves is still in a rural area next to the cemetery where many local residents are laid to rest.

The biggest change is the Interstate which splits the battleground almost in half. As a result there has been increasing development pressure on the open fields that make up much of the battlefield.

The PCBA, which was formed in 1993, has done much to raise awareness and save critical sites. Their Web site at www.parkerscrossroads.com gives information about the driving tour laid out in 1995 and the biennial reenactment.

McDaniel, who is a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives and a longtime preservation activist, says the goal is to continue to develop the tour markers and trails. Another goal is to replace the small welcome center with a "major interpretative center."

The group's most ambitious aim is to buy 52 acres along the north side of the Interstate where many Confederate artillery positions were located. The asking price is $1.2 million.

"Several acres are still pristine and for sale," said McDaniel, "and at some point we hope to purchase them."