In the 2023 book, On Freedom Road: Bicycle Explorations and Reckonings on the Underground Railroad by David Goodrich, the author and his buddy make a series of bicycle trips throughout the North and South, following significant events in the history of the Underground Railroad and the fight for liberation, including the Civil War.

Not having an explicit connection to the Underground Railroad, I was surprised but happy to find that the duo made a journey to Milliken’s Bend a part of their travels. Goodrich does a good job of capturing the modern atmosphere: “Crossing the Mississippi was a formidable barrier for cyclists, as it had been for Ulysses Grant,” and he mentions the difficulty of finding the modern site, or even getting close to where it once was, after having been told by a Vicksburg park ranger that it had been washed away. They hitched a ride across the river in to Louisiana, pedaled up to Lake Providence, spent the night, and headed back to the south and Tallulah the next day.

Goodrich’s description of the circumstances and fighting at Milliken’s Bend is accurate and effectively summarized. The limited space in which he describes the battle enables some succinct points. After describing the woefully inadequate training provided to the freedmen and the wild shots of their first volley, followed by the onrush of Confederate troops charging the levee, Goodrich observes that “this fight for survival required no training. It was a brawl with bayonets and swinging muskets.” He recounts the story of Big Jack Jackson, honoring this man’s courage with the moniker, “The Black Achilles.”

Goodrich and his traveling companion stopped for lunch at a Tallulah eatery, then set out to find the battle site, despite most locals stating they had never heard of it. Thwarted by rough roads, and warned by a kind and knowledgeable farmer that they’d likely end up walking, they eventually end up at Delta, Louisiana, where a plaque to Milliken’s Bend is installed at the “Grant’s Canal” site, a small plot of land held by the National Park Service.

Goodrich’s account is brief, but it is followed by his account of visiting another battlesite, more infamous: Fort Pillow. Like at Milliken’s Bend, there are silences that speak volumes about what happened here, and what we as a nation have chosen to (mis-)remember or forget. The complicated legacy of Nathan Bedford Forrest as a military commander, Ku Klux Klan leader, and omnipresent ghost still haunting Tennessee even today, is also highlighted.

David Goodrich does an excellent job of blending history, travel literature, and modern concerns based upon the history and memory of the past. His writing is lively, and the book moves at a swift but also relaxing pace, much as a good biker gets in to the steady rhythm of the road. For those more inclined to drive in their travels, rather than bike, his book remains a useful guide, and has chapters from sites in more than ten different states.