Hallowed ground in Okolona.

By 1864, with the Union closing in on victory, General William Tecumseh Sherman turned his eye to the rail line at Meridian. His plan was to take the city, then sweep south to Mobile. To achieve this, General William Sooy Smith, who was stationed with his army at Memphis, was to meet Sherman in Meridian. Smith, however, dawdled, and when he finally began his advance, he also began to pick up escaped slaves; this in turn changed his attitude about when and where he might engage the Confederates. The enterprising Confederate Colonel Jeffery Forrest took advantage of the indecision and was able to draw Smith into the swamp at Okolona. In the end, with reinforcement from Nathan Bedford Forrest, the Confederates forced a Union retreat, and Smith was harried back across the Tennessee line.

Later that same year, Nathan Bedford Forrest would once again deliver a fatal strike to Union strategy, in his surprise victory at the Battle of Brice’s Crossroads.

Today, in downtown Okolona, behind the arched wrought-iron gate, you can walk among the graves at the cemetery that some have called “Little Arlington,” the final resting place of more than 1,000 soldiers who were killed at these two battles. While 300 markers indicate the graves of unknown soldiers, all the rest of the markers give the buried soldiers’ home states and infantry. If the adornments are spare, the resulting atmosphere is deeply affecting to many.

After you’ve paid your respects to the men who gave up their lives, head west toward Pontotoc where before they gave up their lands, the Chickasaws enjoyed a remarkably vibrant culture, some of it still preserved for you to explore.