Streight's Raid

Palmyra was only the start of a raid that lasted until May 3, 1863. Streight's column went on foot to Yellow Creek, by river to Fort Henry and Eastport, then across northern Alabama. It was coordinated with Grierson's raid through Mississippi, partly as a feint. After a clash at Day's Gap on April 30, Streight surrendered his 1,700 men at Cedar Bluff, Alabama, to a Confederate force of about five hundred that had bluffed him by parading back and forth. He never reached Georgia.

What the plaque says

Streight's Raid April 11, 1863 Coming here by transport from Nashville, Col. Abel D. Streight marched his task force (2 cos. cav.; 4 regts, mid. inf.) to Ft. Henry, seizing enroute horses and mules to complete mounting them Reembarking there, and landing at Eastport, Miss., he marched east to destroy Confederate resources in north Georgia. His 1500-man force was captured near Rome, Ga. by Brig. Gen. N. B. Forrest with about 600 men, who had come from Columbia, Tenn., to intercept him.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center — 9.5 mi
  An intact earthwork fort above the Cumberland and Red Rivers in Clarksville, begun with forced Black labor and later a contraband camp and recruiting center for Black soldiers.
• Dunbar Cave State Park — 13 mi
  A Clarksville cave with 800-year-old Mississippian artwork, later a resort and Roy Acuff's dance stage, now a state park with seasonal guided tours.
• Cross Creeks National Wildlife Refuge — 18 mi
  An 8,862-acre refuge on the Cumberland River floodplain near Dover, made in 1962 to replace habitat Lake Barkley flooded, wintering tens of thousands of waterfowl.
• Fort Donelson National Battlefield — 21 mi
  The earthen fort above the Cumberland River where Grant's demand for unconditional surrender ended the February 1862 siege, with the Dover Hotel, a national cemetery and the story of the freedom seekers who came to the lines.

More markers nearby

• Palmyra Furnace — 0.2 mi
• Horace H. Lurton — 9.3 mi
• Pioneer Newspaper — 9.4 mi
• Montgomery County Courthouse — 9.4 mi