Battle of Tupelo

The Battle of Tupelo, also known as the Battle of Harrisburg, was a battle of the American Civil War fought July 14–15, 1864, near Tupelo, Mississippi. Union troops were sent from Memphis, Tennessee into Mississippi to pursue Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry Corps, which had defeated a larger Union force at the Battle of Brice's Cross Roads the month prior. Outside the town of Tupelo on July 14, the outnumbered Confederate forces made a badly-coordinated frontal assault on the fortified Union lines, suffering heavy losses. While Forrest's Cavalry survived the battle, Union General Andrew J. Smith's victory at Tupelo ensured the safety of Sherman's supply lines during the Atlanta campaign.

Background

"I will order them to make up a force and go out and follow Forrest to the death, if it cost 10,000 lives and breaks the Treasury. There never will be peace in Tennessee till Forrest is dead."

After the Vicksburg Campaign of 1863 and the Meridian campaign of early 1864, the attention of the Union army and its leading generals shifted to fighting in Virginia and Georgia. General Sherman's campaign in Georgia depended on the vital supply line of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, which passed through Tennessee. Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry Corps posed a threat to Sherman's lines, and Forrest had already proven himself to be an innovator in cavalry tactics. Although his forces were usually outnumbered by Union troops, Forrest was a pioneer of mobile warfare, striking fast against vulnerable infrastructure and supply depots, and using aggressive tactics to psychologically intimidate stronger opponents.

In June, a Union force was sent into North Mississippi to counter Forrest, but the larger Union army was soundly defeated by Forrest at the Battle of Brice's Cross Roads on June 10.