Jackson in the Shenandoah; Peninsula Campaign Continues; Confederates Evacuate Corinth, MS: May 1862
150 Years Ago in the Civil War After several Union victories in the west in April 1862, much of the fighting in May shifted to Virginia. After a string of defeats in the first four months of the year, the Confederacy finally began to see its first significant successes of 1862. The fighting in Virginia was [...]
Mississippi was the second state to secede from the Union, doing so on January 9th, 1861. It was also the home state of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy. About 80,000 men from Mississippi served in the Confederate Army, and though they fought in campaigns all over the south, many didn’t have to travel [...]
Continue reading about Mississippi’s Civil War Sesquicentennial Commemoration
By the winter of 1863, Union forces controlled the Mississippi River with the exception of the approximately 110 miles between the Confederate strongholds of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Port Hudson, Louisiana. Between these two points, the Red River emptied into the Mississippi from the west. The Red River was an important supply line, not only for [...]
Continue reading about Admiral Farragut Passes the Port Hudson Batteries March 14, 1863
As part of the America the Beautiful Quarters® Program, the United States Mint will release quarters honoring Gettysburg National Military Park and Vicksburg National Military Park in 2011. The Gettysburg Quarter will be released on January 25th and the Vicksburg Quarter is set for release on August 29th. The America the Beautiful Quarters® Program is [...]
Continue reading about U.S. Mint to Release Gettysburg and Vicksburg Quarters in 2011
150 Years Ago in the Civil War As the new year began, several southern states began seizing federal military installations as a precaution while the issue of secession was considered. Arsenals were seized in Alabama and Florida. Alabama took over Forts Morgan and Gaines in Mobile Bay; Georgia seized Fort Pulaski near Savannah and Florida took [...]
Continue reading about More States Secede, Confederate Government Formed: January and February 1861
The Civil War was in the news as 2010 drew to a close. Here’s a summary of three events that attracted the attention of the media. Booth Descendants Approve Exhumation of Edwin Booth for DNA Testing After assassinating President Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth escaped to Virginia, where he was cornered in a tobacco barn [...]
