Bynum Mounds - Natchez Trace Parkway, Mississippi

Located about 30 miles south of Tupelo, Mississippi, the Bynum Mounds are among the oldest Indian mounds to be found on the Natchez Trace Parkway.

Built over a 200 year period between around 100 B.C. and 100 A.D., the Bynum site was in use by Native Americans of the Woodland period at the time of the Birth of Christ. They reflect a time period when the original cultures of the South demonstrated remarkable progress in the areas of agriculture, the making of pottery, ceremonial structure and more.

The Bynum Mounds were used for both burial and ceremonial purposes and were the focal points of a larger village complex that included houses and other structures.

The mounds are now part of a historic site maintained by the National Park Service. They can be seen from the parking area along the Natchez Trace Parkway and are easily accessed during daylight hours by paved walkways. The park also features interpretive signs.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natchezbynum.

Birthplace of Elvis Presley - Tupelo, Mississippi

This small wood-frame home was the birthplace of Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll."

The Tupelo, Mississippi, house was built in 1934 by Vernon Presley, Elvis' father, and the future music legend was born here one year later in 1935. The house cost $180 to build, a significant sum in the Depression-era South and economic hard times forced the family to give up the little structure when Elvis was only one year old.

The structure is now the centerpiece of a very nice memorial park and historic site in Tupelo. In addition to the birthplace house, the park features a statue of Elvis as a boy, a museum and a memorial chapel. There are also numerous other sites in Tupelo with a connection to Elvis Presley. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natchezelvis.

Tupelo National Battlefield - Tupelo, Mississippi

The failure of the Union army to destroy the Confederate force under Nathan Bedford Forrest at the Battle of Brices Cross Roads in June of 1864 forced Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to order a second strike, this time under a different commander.

Still alarmed that Forrest might break his tenuous 100+ mile supply line, Sherman ordered Maj. Gen. A.J. Smith to "follow Forrest to the death, if it costs 10,000 lives and breaks the treasury."

Smith pushed south from Memphis in July and by the 14th was in the vicinity of today's Tupelo. There he entrenched his army as the Confederates moved up to meet up under the command of Maj. Gen. Forrest and his immediate superior, Maj. Gen. Stephen D. Lee.

Both Forrest and Lee were excellent officers, but the Battle of Tupelo was not their finest hour. The two officers uncharacteristically hurled their forces against the Union breastworks in attacks that were unusually uncoordinated. The fighting was brutal and casualties piled up.

The Confederates were unable to take the Union position, but Smith also was unable to drive them off. Accepting that the battle had ended in a tactical draw, he began to withdraw back to Memphis. The Confederates pursued, attacking the rear of his columns as he went in a running battle that continued for miles. Forrest was wounded in one of these attacks.

In the end, Smith had not follower Forrest "to the death," but he had badly battered the army of the Confederacy's "Wizard of the Saddle." The battle all but ended any fears that Forrest's cavalry might break Sherman's supply line, assuring the eventual success of the Atlanta Campaign.

The site of the Battle of Tupelo is largely built over today, but a small section has been preserved at the Tupelo National Battlefield on West Main Street in Tupelo. To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natcheztupelobattle.

Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield - Baldwyn, Mississippi

One of the most dramatic Confederate victories of the Civil War was achieved by Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest at a rural crossroads just north of the modern city of Tupelo.

The Battle of Brices Cross Roads, fought on June 10, 1864, is studied by military officers to this day because of the sweeping victory obtained there by Forrest over a Union army twice the size of his own. More than 1,300 acres of the site are now preserved as the Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield. The visitor center is located in Baldwyn and the battlefield is just west of that town.

The battle took place when General William Tecumseh Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign. As his troops moved forward, they were forced to depend on a tenuous supply line more than 100 miles long. Sherman rightly feared that the Confederacy's "Wizard of the Saddle," Nathan Bedford Forrest, would move against his supply line, possibly bringing the campaign to a halt before it reached its objective. To counter such a move, he ordered Brigadier General Samuel D. Sturgis to move out from Memphis and invade Mississippi with an army large enough to deal with Forrest.

Sturgis left Memphis with 8,100 men and an impressive supply of field artillery and marched across the line into Mississippi. Forrest, who had already pushed into Alabama for a strike on Sherman's supply line, turned back to meet the new threat and the two forces collided at Brices Cross Roads on the morning of June 10, 1864.

With only 3,500 men, Forrest drove back Sturgis' force of more than 8,000 through the use of impressive battlefield tactics. By afternoon the Union general knew that he had been beaten and ordered a withdrawal. The retreat turned into a disaster when wagons overturned on the Tishomingo Creek Bridge, allowing Confederate troops to trap hundreds of wagons, hundreds of Union soldiers and 16 pieces of artillery. Sturgis is said to have exclaimed, "For God's sake, if Mr. Forrest will let me alone, I will let him alone!"

The Confederates lost 493 men in the battle, while inflicting a shocking loss of around 2,613 men on Sturgis' command.

To learn more about the Battle of Brices Cross Roads, please visit our new Brices Cross Roads page at www.exploresouthernhistory.com/bricescrossroads.

Spring Travel Part Nine: Elvis Presley Birthplace

Continuing our series on some of my favorite spring travel destinations in the South, this is the birthplace of Elvis Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi.

The little frame home, constructed by Presley's father, is now part of a memorial park in Tupelo. Other features are a museum, memorial chapel, fountain and statue of Elvis during his boyhood.

The "King of Rock and Roll" was born here on January 8, 1935 and spent his childhood years in the house. It was here in Tupelo that he learned to play the guitar and developed his unique musical style.

The Elvis Presley Birthplace gives visitors a chance to learn about the humble roots of the man who changed music forever. It also provides a fascinating look into life in the South during the 1930s.

To learn more, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com/MSTupelo1.

Birthplace of Elvis Presley - Tupelo, Mississippi

This little frame house in Tupelo, Mississippi, was the birthplace of American music legend and "King of Rock and Roll" Elvis Presley.

Located at 306 Elvis Presley Drive, the home and adjacent museum and memorial park is open daily and is one of the most popular historic attractions in northern Mississippi.

The home was built by Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, for a total cost of $180. Elvis was born here on January 8, 1935, and lived here for much of his early life. He learned to play guitar and performed for the first time here in Tupelo, a city that celebrates his life with numerous sites related to his boyhood and career.

In addition to his birthplace, the memorial park includes a museum with numerous exhibits on Elvis' life, a memorial chapel and a nicely designed monument of Elvis as a boy.

To learn more about the Elvis Presley Birthplace, please visit www.exploresouthernhistory.com and scroll down to the Index section and look for the link under "Mississippi."