Enlarge November 11th
General Chalmers repeated his raid on Collierville on November 3, 1863. He
had received faulty intelligence that the fort was lightly defended and
all the Union forces were pulling out. His goal was to cut the M&CRR to
prevent movement of Union forces to Chattanooga. Chalmers arrived and
hastily ordered an attack of Slemmon’s and McCulloch’s brigades without
any preparations or artillery fire. They advanced north on Mount Pleasant
Road and turned to form a line south of the RR for a dismounted charge.
This time, the Union fort was defended by the 7th Illinois Cavalry, the
same unit that had been beaten in the previous battle. However, this time
they were defending with two artillery pieces. At the time of the attack,
Colonel Hatch’s brigade arrived from the West. The 2nd Iowa Cavalry
galloped along Poplar Road and wheeled into defensive line along the RR.
Two companies were armed with the 5-shot Colt rifle and this fire power
stopped the Confederate attack. Col. J. Z. George of the 5th Mississippi
Cavalry was captured at the Union line on the RR bed. The attack was
The marker is located in the grassy park at the corner of Walnut and West
Mulberry Streets. This location is the start and end of a self-guided
walking trail that consists of 6 signs related to the history of
Collierville during the Civil War. At the corner of Main St and Poplar
(Hwy 57) is the town's Morton’s Museum located in an old church. This
Center has a brief history and displays of replica uniforms and guns and a
few of the relic cannon balls from the battle.
Enlarged Views: Hit Back Button to return
Enlarge Sherman’s Monument
in DC. Inset: Steve Cole
At the death of General Sherman in 1891, the Union veterans of the Army of
the Tennessee erected a monument in Washington DC, located on Pennsylvania
Ave. They published a booklet about Sherman’s career and sold it to raise
money for the monument. The monument details the career of Sherman by
listing his ranks and commands. All of his battles are displayed on the
floor around the monument. Among the large battles where Sherman commanded
brigades or corps or an entire army, there is listed the battle of “Colliersville”.
In this battle the Union forces totaled no more than 550 men. He would
later state that he gave complete command over to the colonel commanding
the infantry regiment garrisoned in the town. The website for the National
Park Service does not recognize the October 11 battle. Instead they only
acknowledge the November 3 battle. However, the October 11 battle that
involved General Sherman was the largest land battle in Shelby County
Tennessee during the entire war.
The insert shows the credit for the battle of Collierville. The
mid-Western Yanks who occupied the town spelled it with an “S”. Remember
this when you want to search Google Books for original documents and books
on Collierville. Photo taken from the corner of Pennsylvania Ave and 15
Street in Washington, D. C., just east of the White House.
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