The Battle of Parker's Crossroads
Tour Stop 3
The Old Crossroads
Mid-Morning, December 31, 1862
Dunham's Union troops, pressured on three sides, rallied around the crossroads near the Parker House but soon retreated beyond the roads and sought cover among the rolling hills to the southeast.
Forrest's main force of mounted troopers, failing in an assault on the left wing of the Union battle line, were then sent eastward along a line just to the north of present-day Interstate 40, to envelop Dunham's right flank.
To meet the threat Dunham charged north along a split-rail fence line. This new position was approximately 300 yards southeast of the intersection of Interstate 40 and State Highway 22. Forrest's cannon decimated Dunham's Brigade, forcing back several of its attacks during which Union Colonel John I. Rinaker lost a leg to shrapnel.
Marker is on Wildersville Road, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
