Parker's Cross Roads was a Civil War engagement fought in Tennessee, 1862. It was a Confederate victory.
As Brig. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest's expedition into West Tennessee neared its conclusion, Union Brig. Gen. Jeremiah C. Sullivan, with the brigades of Col. Cyrus L. Dunham and Col. John W. Fuller, attempted to cut Forrest off from withdrawing across the Tennessee River. Dunham's and Forrest's march routes, on December 31, 1862, brought them into contact at Parker's Cross Roads. Skirmishing began about 9:00 am, with Forrest taking an initial position along a wooded ridge northwest of Dunham at the intersection. Confederate artillery gained an early advantage. Dunham pulled his brigade back a half mile and redeployed, facing north. His Federals repelled frontal feints until attacked on both flanks and rear by Forrest's mounted and dismounted troops. During a lull, Forrest sent Dunham a demand for an unconditional surrender. Dunham refused and was preparing for Forrest's next onset when Fuller's Union brigade arrived from the north and surprised the Confederates with an attack on their rear; Confederate security detachments had failed to warn of Fuller's approach. "Charge 'em both ways," ordered Forrest. The Confederates briefly reversed front, repelled Fuller, then rushed past Dunham's demoralized force and withdrew south to Lexington and then across the Tennessee River. Both sides claimed victory, but the Confederate claims appear to have more credence.
On December 31, 1862, Union and Confederate forces clashed at Parker's Cross Roads, in present-day spelling Crossroads, located in Henderson County, Tennessee, amid the fighting of the American Civil War.
As Forrest's push through West Tennessee drew toward its close, Sullivan sought to block the Confederate cavalry commander's escape route back over the Tennessee River, moving the brigades under Dunham and Fuller into position to sever his path.
On December 31, 1862, the marching columns of Dunham and Forrest converged at Parker's Crossroads, setting the stage for battle. Skirmishing opened around 9 am, as Forrest established himself first along a wooded ridge to the northwest of Dunham's position at the crossroads, and Confederate guns quickly seized the upper hand. In response, Dunham withdrew his brigade half a mile and reformed his lines facing north. Though his troops turned back several probing assaults from the front, Forrest's cavalrymen, fighting both mounted and on foot, soon struck at their flanks and rear as well.
Amid a pause in the fighting, Forrest issued Dunham a call to surrender without conditions. Dunham would not yield, and as he braced for another Confederate push, Fuller's brigade suddenly appeared from the north, catching the Confederates off guard with a strike against their rear, an approach that Confederate pickets had failed to detect in time. Forrest's response became legendary: he ordered his men to charge in both directions at once. His force pivoted to drive off Fuller, then broke through past Dunham's shaken troops, retreating southward toward Lexington, Tennessee.
Once the engagement ended, Forrest managed to get his men across the Tennessee River. Each side insisted they had come out on top, yet the reality was that Confederate troops pulled back and endured heavier losses than their opponents.
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