The area around Tupelo was once the homeland of the Chickasaw Indians. Hernando de Soto and company made camp with the tribe in 1540 but were driven out after a few months. During the 1736 Battle of Ackia the French Army tried to rout the Chickasaw but was forced instead to retreat, thus crippling French efforts to dominate the region. More than a century later blood was again shed during a fierce and strategic Civil War battle. Learn More...