December 31, 1862

— Union and Confederate Forces —

Union Forces

Cyrus Livingston Dunham was born in Dryden, New York, on January 16, 1817. In 1841 he moved to Salem, Indiana, where he practiced law and served as a Democratic congressman. He entered the Union service in 1861 as Colonel of the 50th Indiana Infantry Regiment. In the September 1862 battle of Munfordville, Kentucky, Donham and the men of the 50th surrendered to the Confederate Forces. Here at the battle of Parker's Crossroads, the fiery and eloquent commander was determined not to surrender his men as he had been forced to before.

Sidebar: Union Order of Battle
Colonel Cyrus L. Dunham, Third Brigade, 16th Army Corps, Army of the Tennessee
Lieutenant Colonel Samuel T. Wells, 50th Indiana Infantry
Colonel John I. Rinaker, 122nd Illinois Infantry
Colonel H.J.B. Cummings, 39th Iowa Infantry
Lieutenant Harry S. Lee, 7th Wisconsin Artillery
Colonel John W. Fuller, 2nd Brigade, 16th Army Corps
Lieutenant Colonel Zephaniah S. Spaulding, 27th Ohio Infantry
Colonel John W. Sprague, 63rd Ohio Infantry
Colonel Edward F. Noyes, 39th Ohio Infantry
Captain John Davis, 18th Illinois Mounted Infantry

Confederate Forces

Nathan Bedford Forrest was born in Bedford County, Tennessee, on July 13, 1821. Entering Confdederate service as a private in the cavalry, he ended the Civil War as a respected Lieutenant General. Understanding that "war means fightin' and fightin' means killin'," he refused to surrender at Fort Donelson; then stopped the Federal pursuit at Shiloh, and later captured the entire Union garrison at Murfreesboro. Newly promoted to Brigadier General, he rode into battle at Parker's Crossroads after crippling and destroying Union railroad supply lines across Tennessee and Kentucky.

Sidebar: Confederate Order of Battle
Brigadier General Nathan B. Forrest, Forrest's Cavalry Brigade, Army of Middle Tennessee
Colonel George G. Dibrell, 8th Tennessee Cavalry
Colonel James W. Starnes, 4th Tennessee Cavalry
Colonel Jacob B. Biffle, 9th Tennessee Cavalry
Colonel A.A. Russell, 4th Alabama Cavalry
Major Nicholas N. Cox, Cox's Tennessee Cavalry Battalion
Captain Samuel L. Freeman, Freeman's Battery
Lieutenant Colonel T. Alonzo Napier, Napier's Tennessee Cavalry Battalion
Lieutenant Colonel T.G. Woodward, Woodward's Kentucky Battalion

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Show me all markers in:  Wildersville, TN  |  Henderson County  |  38388  |  Tennessee  |  United States of America

The Battle of Parker's Crossroads
Freeman's Battery
Parker's Crossroads
The Tides of War
The Battle of Parker's Crossroads
Morton's Battery
Forrest's West Tennessee Raid
Forrest's Tactics
Flight to Safety
"Charge Them Both Ways"

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