Camping Galore--the adventures of Pat and Susan: Natchez Trace (Hohenwald, TN

We continued investigating various locations on the Natchez Trace Parkway as we drove from Hohenwald to Tupelo. The Trace along the northern part is very beautiful with a canopy of trees over the road. The nice thing about the road is that there are no commercial vehicles permitted so we didn’t have to worry about semi’s zooming around us.

There is so much history along the parkway and we didn’t have time to stop at every brown sign along the way. One of the stops that we did make while pulling the 5-wheel was at Pharr Mounds. The eight burial mounds were built from about 1,800 to 2,000 years ago. According to the informational sign, the builders of these mounds probably knew little about farming and relied entirely on hunting, fishing and gathering berries.

After settling into the Natchez Trace RV Park (in the rain as usual) for our stay of a couple of days, we spent the rest of the day relaxing and planning our tour for the next day. The next day we saw more Indian mounds—Bynum Mounds which were built by prehistoric people between 2,100 and 1,800 years ago.

We were able to walk around the preserved site to see the mounds up close. By far the most interesting mounds were the Owl Creek Mounds. This was a ceremonial site and built/used by farming people belonging to the Mississippian culture A.D. 1000 to 1500. The archaeological site was originally composed of five Indian mounds, a central plaza, village area and other key features. Many of these have disappeared over the years, but the central two mounds remain and are preserved in a park area that also features walkways, interpretive panels and a picnic area (see http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/natchezowlcreek.html for additional information.) The larger of the mounds has steps to the top that gives a panoramic view of the surrounding area and of the other mound.

After seeing the mounds, we started visiting Civil War Battlefield and Cemetery sites. North of Tupelo is Brice’s Cross Roads National Battlefield Site (June 10, 1864) and Cemetery. The Confederate victory at Brice’s Cross Roads was a significant victory for Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest, but its long term effect on the war proved costly for the Confederates. Brice’s Cross Roads is an excellent example of winning the battle, but losing the war. For more information, go to http://www.nps.gov/brcr/index.htm.

Tupelo was the site of another Civil War battle on July 14-15, 1864 between Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Smith for the Union and Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest who had previously pushed back the Union troops at Brice’s Crossroads. The purpose for the fighting in Mississippi during the summer of 1864 was to protect the railroad carrying food and ammunition from Louisville and Chattanooga to the union army advancing on Atlanta. While neither side can claim complete victory at Tupelo, the Union army did keep Forrest in Mississippi allowing Sherman to continue his march to the sea.

After our brief stay in the Tupelo area, we proceeded south along the Natchez Trace before heading west to Greenville, MS. While driving along the Trace, the road looked much the same as we had seen previously until we came upon a sign the said “Tornado Damage April 2011”. The damage went for miles and miles and made the area look like a war zone. It appears that the tornado that ripped through the area traveled along the Natchez Trace destroying everything in its path. How awesome nature can be in both good ways as well as those possibly perceived to be bad.