True Stories of the Civil War
Mississippi was the site of many of the Civil War’s fiercest confrontations. The combat that raged from the hills of Northeast Mississippi to the bluffs of Vicksburg included some of the deciding battles in the War Between the States. These events and others are documented in the many historic landmarks and museums dedicated to the memory of this tumultuous period of American history.
The
Vicksburg National Military Park is a journey through the history of Vicksburg’s role in Civil War history. As the tide began to turn against the Confederacy, its soldiers were depending upon the Port of Vicksburg to keep their supply lines flowing. As other avenues were choked off by the Union, the battle for Vicksburg began to heat up as the Confederacy tried desperately to stave off the impending Union advancement. Once Vicksburg was lost, supply lines dried up. Soldiers couldn’t fight without weapons or food, and soon it was only a matter of time before General Lee was faced with the harsh decision between whether to watch his troops starve or issue a final surrender. Thankfully, he chose the latter, thus ending the Civil War and cementing Vicksburg’s historic role in its conclusion.
Northeast Mississippi saw fighting from the war's earliest days to its final months. This fighting ranged from raids and battles at
Corinth, Iuka, Brice's Crossroads, Holly Springs,
Tupelo and Okolona to skirmishes at places such as Farmington, Jacinto, Pontotoc, Ripley and nearly every other settlement and hamlet. Preserved sites range from
Brice's Crossroads National Battlefield, a National Park Service site in Baldwyn, to the graves of the unnamed Union soldiers off of the Natchez Trace Parkway near Troy in Pontotoc County. The Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center guides visitors through the complexity of the military campaigns and the struggles on the home front. The
Shiloh National Military Park is a memorial shared between Mississippi and Tennessee. In 1862, nearly 100,000 men met on this famous battlefield, leaving 3,500 dead and nearly 20,000 wounded - a landmark battle in Civil War history. To date, it was the bloodiest battle in United States history, and its record is preserved in Shiloh. This historic park lies just twenty-three miles northeast of Corinth, Mississippi.
Mississippi played an important and prominent role in the events leading up to the Civil War, the conflict that followed and the aftermath that ensued when the smoke had cleared. We remember these brave souls and pay tribute to them at a great many dedicated Mississippi Civil War sites, memorials, and event reenactments across the state.