Graves of 11 Unknown Union Soldiers

Continue north on Route 41.

Site 4—At 10.7 miles, north of the Natchez Trace overpass, look out on the right for two small brown signs at a small paved pull-over place just as you round the curve. There is more room to pull over just up the road on the right. The signs are for Site 12 and Site 27 of the Pontotoc Historical Tour. At this site are the GRAVES of eleven unknown Union soldiers. To reach the grave sites, follow the path and ascend the short, steep walk-up. [Note: Ticks are plentiful in the summer.] One of the unknowns may be Sergeant Alexander Brandon of the 4th Tennessee Cavalry, U.S. His friends in the regiment told his family that during the retreat he had been mounted on a mule. The animal bolted, carrying him too close to Rebel pursuers, and he was killed. His friends brought some of his things to his family, and they tried in vain to find his body. It may be that the eleven graves lie beside the original Pontotoc Road. It is theoretically possible, though exceedingly difficult, to follow this trace a mile or more northeast to the site of Ivy's Hill.