Western Swing: Day 05

For day five of our video swing of western battlefields with the American Battlefield Trust, we skipped ahead to 1864. This was an exciting opportunity for me to do some interpretation on some battlefields I’d never had the chance to interpret before, although the real stars of this show were Parker Hills and Eric Jacobson. Parker has a particular affinity for Brices Cross Roads, and Eric has done spectacular stuff at Spring Hill and Franklin with the Battle of Franklin Trust. There are incredible preservation victories at all three places.

Join me, Kris White, Garry Adelman—along with a great cast of special guest stars—as we first hit Brices Crossroads in northern Mississippi, then make our way north to Spring Hill, Tennessee.

In the late spring of 1864, Confederate Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest was tasked with hindering Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s campaign against Atlanta by destroying the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. General Parker Hills and Dr. Chris Mackowski set up Brices Cross Roads for us from The Cunningham House in Booneville, Mississippi.

General Parker Hills of Battle Focus details the Battle of Brices Cross Roads for us, before special guest and Trustee of the American Battlefield Trust Don Barrett gives a rundown on the history of preserving the battlefield.

The Battle of Brices Cross Roads in Northern Mississippi is wrapped up for us by Dr. Chris Mackowski of Emerging Civil War. Then, American Battlefield Trust Trustee Don Barrett details more of the preservation efforts that made the battlefield what it is today.

In November 1864, Confederate General John Bell Hood is looking for a counter to losing Atlanta to Union forces. He sets his eyes upon Central Tennessee to try and bring some strategic ground back to the South. Dr. Chris Mackowski is joined by special guest Eric Jacobson, CEO of the Battle of Franklin Trust, to detail the Battle of Spring Hill.

After a day of fighting, Confederate General John Bell Hood allowed Union forces under General John Schofield to retreat to Franklin, Tennessee, unimpeded, marching within a few hundred yards of Hood’s camps. A huge missed opportunity for the Confederates, it has been described as “one of the most controversial non-fighting events of the entire war.” Learn more from Garry Adelman, Dr. Chris Mackowski and special guest from the Battle of Franklin Trust, Eric Jacobson.