McNairy Magazine 2019

to Bethel Springs City Hall
shelters one of the traditional
underground springs. An active,
public spring is accessible
on your right adjacent to the
gravel turnaround and picnic
area. It is here, in August
1862, that Col. Fielding Hurst
mustered the 6th TN Cavalry
USA. Hurst camped here and
watered his horses and men in
these springs. Kevin McCann’s
“Hurst’s Wurst: Colonel
Fielding Hurst and the 6th TN
Cavalry USA” is an excellent
resource for those interest in
the exploits of this notorious
band of “Homemade Yankees.”
From Laughlin Spring
proceed .4 miles to the Hurst
Nation state historical marker
on your left. You may wish
to pull off in the parking area
to your right (Bethel Springs
Church of Christ) to read the
marker and learn about the
influential and controversial
Fielding Hurst and his family
who lived in and controlled
this area of McNairy County.
Proceed a few hundred feet
on Main Street and turn left on
4th Avenue. You are entering
the grounds of the historic
Bethel Presbyterian Church.
The church and cemetery to
your right are listed on the
National Register of Historic
Places. Both Revolutionary
and Civil War soldiers are
buried in the cemetery and
the church building that
stood on this site served as a
military hospital, barracks and
administrative space for both
armies during the Civil War.
The current building which
was constructed in 1893 is
the oldest church building in
McNairy County. It serves as
the meeting place for an active
Presbyterian congregation
today. Please be respectful of
their assemblies during regular
worship times.
Veer to your right between
the church and cemetery and
keep right onto 3rd Avenue.
You will come to a stop sign at
South Main Street. Go left and
take an immediate right turn
onto Bethel-Purdy Road. You
will notice the railroad tracks
in front of you and the historic
Bethel Station rail yard to
your right. This is the northern
extension of the M&O Railroad
where your tour began.
March 1862 witnessed heavy
concentration of Confederate
troops here under Maj.
Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham
(Right). Acting on orders from
commanding officer, Gen.
P.G.T. Beauregard, 4,000 men
converged on Bethel Station
by road and rail to counter
Union forces amassing
at Savannah and Crump
Landing on the Tennessee
River. Beauregard feared that
a Union offensive was being
planned on the M&O at Bethel
Station. When it became
apparent that Corinth was the
target and the main force of
Grant’s army would land at
Pittsburg landing, Beauregard
ordered Cheatham’s division to
mobilize and rendezvous with
Confederate columns moving
north from Corinth toward
Shiloh. Cheatham’s division
would be embroiled in some of
the heaviest fighting at Shiloh’s
infamous Hornet’s Nest.
Continue across the railroad
tracks on Bethel-Purdy Road
and drive 4.4 miles. You are
now traveling the historic
route marched by Cheatham’s
Confederate troops to the
battle of Shiloh. Union troops
also used this road to access,
occupy and destroy the
railroads north of Corinth
following the Confederate
retreat at Shiloh.
You will reach a stop sign
at the intersection of Bethel-
Purdy and Bethesda-Purdy
Roads. Go left on Bethesda-
Purdy Road and drive .6 miles
to Gann Road on your left.
Go left on Gann road and
travel .7 miles to the Purdy
Community Center and the
Fielding Hurst and Purdy
Tennessee Civil War Trails
marker. Note the Old Stage
Road veering off to your right at
the .4-mile mark. You will come
back to this road to complete
the last leg of the tour to
Adamsville but for now, keep
left on Gann. The Hurst and
Purdy marker will direct your
attention to the only remaining
antebellum structure in Purdy,
the old Fielding Hurst home,
directly behind the current
community center. Purdy
was the McNairy County seat
during the war and the center
of intense activity by both
Union and Confederate forces
throughout the conflict. Prior
to Shiloh, Cheatham occupied
Purdy with a small force and
monitored traffic on the roads
towards Crump, Pittsburg and
Hamburg Landings. Skirmishes
between both regular troops
and guerilla fighters took place
in the area and Confederate
sympathizers in Purdy were
harried by Hurst’s 6th TN
USA throughout the war.
Confederate General Nathan
Bedford Forrest developed a
particular loathing for Hurst
and unsuccessfully sought to
capture him at his Purdy home
on more than one occasion.
While in Purdy, you
might wish to visit the two
cemeteries where many
of McNairy County’s early
settlers and a number of civil
war soldiers are buried. To
access the cemeteries from
the community center parking
area, go right on Gann and
take an immediate right on
Purdy-Beauty Hill Road. Just
past the Hurst home, you will
see a narrow gravel road on
your left which leads to the first
cemetery. When you return to
Purdy-Beauty Hill Road go
right and pass the community
center and the intersection of
Gann Road on your left. Take
the next right on Hurst Lane to
access the second cemetery.
Hurst Lane will dead end into
a turnaround. Proceed back to
the Tennessee Civil War Trails
marker and community center
to resume your tour.
From the community center
parking area, turn left on Gann
and proceed .3 miles back to
Old Stage Road coming in on
your left. Go left on Old Stage
and travel 5.4 miles to the
stop sign at the intersection of
Old Stage and Hwy 224. This
road was heavily picketed
and traveled by Union
and Confederate troops
throughout the war.
Go right on Hwy 224 and veer
left to remain on Old Stage
Road in .6 miles. You will pass
through the small community
of Hickory Flat in route to
Adamsville. In 3.2 miles after
veering onto Old Stage Road
from Hwy 224 you will arrive at
the Tennessee Civil War Trails
marker at Adamsville on your
right. Pull off in the parking area
at War Memorial Park to learn
about Adamsville in the Civil
War. At the time of the Battle
of Shiloh, two brigades of Maj.
Gen. Lew Wallace’s division
(USA) were camped in this area
and joined his circuitous march
from Crump’s Landing on to
the Battle of Shiloh (follow
the general’s movements on
the Wallace trail map). Heavy
concentrations of Union
troops under Wallace and
Confederates commanded
by Cheatham in McNairy
and western Hardin counties
frayed the nerves of both
commanders as well as their
superiors. Cavalry from both
sides scouted the roads from
the Tennessee River back
towards Purdy and Bethel
Station through the early part
of 1862. A number of inevitable
small clashes triggered several
false alarms until the decisive
blow finally came at Shiloh on
April 6, 1862.
From War Memorial Park
return to Old Stage Road and
proceed a few feet to the stop
sign at the intersection
of Hwy 64. To return to
Selmer, go right and travel
west 12.2 miles back to the
intersection of Hwy 64 and
Hwy 45. To pick up the Wallace
Trail and follow the Union
general’s troop movements
to the Shiloh Battlefield go
left on Hwy 64 and proceed
east through Adamsville. Go
4.6 miles into the small town
of Crump and make a right on
Crump Landing Road. Proceed
.7 miles to Crump Landing
on the Tennessee River and
follow the instructions on your
Wallace Trail map.
MCNAIRY MAGAZINE 19