Meriwether Lewis Park – Natchez Trace

Meriwether Lewis Park Natchez Trace Parkway

Meriwether Lewis Park, Campground & Monument

The Merriwether Lewis Wayside Stop on the Natchez Trace is our favorite of all the significant points of interest. It is the site of Grinders Stand, made famous due to it being the place where famed explorer Meriwether Lewis died of mysterious circumstances. The Meriwether Lewis monument marks his burial site.

Another attraction of the site is being able to walk a portion of the original Old Natchez Trace that runs through the park. The old trace section also intersects with a network of other trails within this wayside stop.

A third attraction is the largest and most nicely landscaped of the 3 campgrounds that are located on the Trace itself.


Natchez Trace Articles on Scenic Pathways
History-Introduction Natchez Trace
Travelogue: Highlights along The Trace Parkway
Meriwether Lewis Natchez Trace  Park (this page)


Grinders Stand and Meriwether Lewis Last Night

On his way to Washington DC to defend himself against charges of improper expenditures, Meriwether Lewis traveled on a portion of the Trace. On October 10th he stayed overnight at Grinders Stand, a wayside inn on the Trace trail.

During the night gunshots were heard and Lewis was found dead of gunshot wounds. Some reports allege he died at his own hand; others suggest he was murdered. A sad and mysterious end to one of America’s most famous explorers.

Lewis is buried about 200 yards from the old inn and along the original Trace. In 1848 the state of Tennessee erected a monument over the grave site. Some exhibits accompany the replica of Grinders Stand built on the site of the original. Exhibits tell the story of that evening, plus other significant aspects of Lewis’ history. See MLewis-Site-Bulletin

A replica of the original Grinders Stand Inn where Lewis spent his last fateful night.
A replica of the original Grinders Stand Inn where Lewis spent his last night.
Meriwether Lewis Gravesite
Corps of Discovery explorer Meriwether Lewis is buried here along the Old Trace.

Meriwether Lewis Hiking Trails

Old Trace Trail
Old Trace Hiking Trail from the Meriwether Lewis grave site.

There is a four mile loop hiking trail that starts at the Lewis grave site and eventually runs along Little Swan Creek where it intersects with the Old Natchez Trace foot trail. A few other spur trails criss-cross this network. We found walking on the Old Trace trail fairly easy to follow from the grave site to one of the picnic grounds in the park. But based on reports I’ve read some other portions of the hiking trail are less well-traveled and more difficult to follow.

We did a loop following the Old Trace til it intersected with the spur trail to the picnic area and then returned along the road.
We did a loop following the Old Trace til it intersected with the spur trail to the picnic area and then returned along the road.

Meriwether Lewis Campground

Meriwether Lewis campgound
We found a nice level RV site not too far from the washrooms.

Of the three drive-in campgrounds along the Trace, Meriwether Lewis is the largest and most improved. The bathroom building is clean, heated, well lighted with sinks and toilets (not vault toilets). The campground roads and sites are fully paved and the sites are quite level. There’s also a well pump faucet for adding water to your RV. No dump site nor electric service. But otherwise a very well maintained campground with an attractive camping fee – $0.0!

During peak travel times, you may have trouble finding a vacant camping site as this is a very popular stop along the Trace. David Crockett State Park is not too far away and would be an option for those camping or RVing.

Camping Along the Natchez Trace

The National Park maintains three improved campgrounds along the Trace (all of which were profiled above): Rocky Springs, Jeff Busby, and Meriwether Lewis. In addition there are several rustic campgrounds reserved for bikers or hikers. Within a few miles of the Trace are both private and public campgrounds with utilities for RVs. This page has links to State Parks convenient to the Trace.

Natchez Trace Links & Publications


Shiloh Military Park

Shiloh Military Park

Shiloh National Military Park

The Shiloh Visitor Center is an important stop on your tour of Shiloh.

Travelers on the historic Natchez Trace Parkway should consider taking a 45 mile detour to visit Shiloh, a large, well preserved National Historic park and the most significant Civil War site in the Mississippi River valley.

Brief History of the Battle

The historic two day Civil War battle at Shiloh is closely tied to the town of Corinth, 22 miles south of the Shiloh Battlefield. General US Grant had encamped at Pittsburg Landing along the Tennessee River and was awaiting arrival of General Buell and the Army of Ohio to then advance on Corinth. Corinth was at the strategic rail cross roads between east-west and north-south rail lines. So Shiloh itself was not the object; it was Corinth. Capturing it from the Confederates would substantially impair their movement of troops and supplies. Confederate General Albert Johnston, commander of the Corinth region, recognized this threat and was aware of the Union Army advancing on them from the north. Rather than meet the Union forces at Corinth, he decided to seize the initiative and move his 44,000 men to attack Grant at his encampment at Pittsburg Landing and near the Shiloh Church. The battle of Shiloh began at dawn on April 6th, 1862 when a Union patrol discovered the Confederates advancing through the forest and fields near a small log church named the Shiloh Meeting House. In two days of bloody fighting (Grant’s 40,000 man army vs Johnston’s 44,000) Grant with the help of Buell’s army arriving on the second day repealed the Confederate attack. Johnston perished during the battle and was replaced by General PGT Beauregard who to save his Army was forced to retreat Corinth. In the bloody two battle, 23,746 lives were lost.

Sunken Road separating the thicket where Wallace’s line confronted Johnston’s advancing Confederate troops.

Later in April, a Union force of 100,000 troops advanced from Pittsburg Landing with the goal of capturing Corinth. Their arrival within cannon range of the Confederate encampment at Corinth and the overwhelming size of the Union forces forced Beauregard to withdraw his forces south to Tupelo, Mississippi. So Union troops occupied Corinth and the strategic railway crossroads. But that wasn’t the end of things. In October, Confederate General Earl Van Dorn launched a surprise attack on the Union Garrison in Corinth but after 3 days of fighting was forced to retreat. The three day battle of Corinth cost another 6,500 lives and marked the last Confederate Civil War offensive in Mississippi.

Corinth Civil War Interpretative Center

Corinth Military History Visitor Center

The Corinth Interpretative Center is worth a visit before touring the Shiloh Battlefield Park. It has an excellent film telling the story of Corinth and how it connects to the epic battle at Shiloh. There’s also several educational exhibits on the Civil War and some interesting artifacts. Theh center is built on the former cite of Battery Robinett. The center is conveniently located on the west side of town, with an ample parking lot, and handicap accessibility. There are a few other Civil War sites of interest in the Corinth area including the Corinth Contraband Camp. Now a park, a portion of the old camp has been set aside with a commemorative trail with bronze figures depicting the lives of residents of the camp. Navigating to visit Shiloh from the center is simple (just go north about ½ mile and turn right on Shiloh Road and follow the signs).

Shiloh Battlefield

Shiloh Map

Pittsburg Landing was the southern-most landing for river steamboats on the Tennessee River. The river afforded General Grant the opportunity to move large amount of men, supplies, and armament towards the military objective of Corinth. Above the landing was a high plateau of forest and farm land occupied by a scattering of small farmers who worshiped at a log cabin known as the Shiloh Meeting house. It was an ideal spot for Grant to encamp and use as a base of operations for the Corinth assault.

Fortunately over 4200 acres of the original battlefield have been preserved as the Shiloh Military Park. The park has an extensive network of roads throughout the park joining several key battle sites, each with a commemorative monument (cannons and other military artifacts) and plaques describing the conflict that occurred at that point or the strategic importance of the site. Visitors to the park should first stop at the Shiloh Visitor Center to pick up maps and guides to touring the park. You can take a driving tour or hike trails within the park. There are also interesting exhibits in the visitor center as well as a bookstore for more detailed accounts of the Shiloh and Corinth battles and other Civil War history. Another resource at the Visitor Center is the staff itself. They are more than just courteous hosts or park service agents; you’ll find them quite well-steeped in Shiloh history – a human interactive educational resource to complement the more high tech interactive exhibits!

Shiloh was at the time the bloodiest battle of the Civil War and the ninth overall most costly battle. If you include the casualties at Corinth, which was part of the same campaign it would rank in the top five Civil War battle sites. Visiting Shiloh Military Park is an impressive educational experience. I look forward to a return visit to Shiloh and plan to do some advance reading of Shiloh history as a guide to my next visit.

Links

 

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