"Columbus, Ft. Derussy and Fort Cowardice"

I am not sure of the exact details but I remember the gist of the story about Fort Cowardice.

It seems that during the Union occupation of Ft. Derussy (sp) there was a young man from Columbus who was with the Confederate force at Union City and he took leave to go home for a visit.  Asking two of his buddies to go with him.  It was shortly after dark that they got to the ford of Obion creek, probably where the old iron bridge was later erected.  They were challenged by the Union picket.  Thinking fast the youth waved a white cloth and said that he had a message for the fort commander from the Confederate commander.

 He told them that the Confederate army had a massive troop headed from Union City to Columbus and they had a limited amount of time to surrender or be overrun. 

Upon getting this message the commander had his troops round up every able bodied man, woman and child rounded up to dig an entrenchment at South Columbus. 

In the meantime the young men were able to visit and told what happened and soon the story spread.  The people forced to build the trenches knew this and were singing and having a ball at this turn of events.  They named it Fort Cowardice. 

I have read this tale somewhere and also heard the old timers tell of it. Several years ago I had an old set of county aerial maps and the field, at the bottom of the hill at Columbus and on the south side of the road, was photographed when in beans and on the south end of it you could plainly see a darker area in the shape of a perfect pentagon.  It would have been near where the railroad ferry had to be.