"Hit 'em on the e-e-end!"
As Nathan Bedford Forrest closed on the Union defenders at the critical intersection at Brice's Crossroads, he dispatched two companies of the Twelfth Kentucky under Captain Henry A. Tyler, along with his personal escort, with instructions to extend the Confederate left, locate the Federals, and "Hit 'em on the e-e-end," in the direction of the Pontotoc Road (see map). This action enabled Forrest to protect his line and threaten the Union right flank, in conjunction with a separate attack on the Federal left by Colonel Clark Barteau that accomplished a classic double envelopment of their opponents. The pressure allowed the Confederates to gain the key position on the battlefield. "It was but a few minutes when we all met as the cross-roads," Tyler noted. "We were certainly a happy and enthusiastic band." For, Samuel Sturgis's demoralized forces the enthusiasm lay in retreating beyond Tishomingo Creek.
Captain Tyler revisited the Brice's Crossroads battlefield in 1908 with another veteran and artist Frederick Ruple. He served as a consultant for the action at "the salient point" of the engagement and insisted upon the inclusion of the appropriate persons in the image (seen above). "This picture must show men...who were actually in the front."
caption to picture
General N.B. Forrest and Officers at Brice's Crossroads, Miss. June 10, 1864
Capt. Morton, Col. Lyon, Gen. Buford, Gen. Forrest, Capt. Anderson
Capt. Will Forrest, Col Rucker, Capt. Tyler
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