The Museum of the Mississippi Delta will unveil “War Comes to the Mississippi Delta,” an exhibit focusing on the Battle of Fort Pemberton.
The battle, which took place on March 12-19, 1863, was fought in Leflore County.
The exhibit begins at 10 a.m. Saturday. It will run through Aug. 31 during regular museum hours Monday through Saturday excluding holidays.
There is no charge for the exhibit on Saturday. Forecasts call for sunny weather with highs in the mid-40s, which is similar to the weather in January 1863.
“It’s been exciting to see the artifacts come together,” said Cheryl Taylor, the museum’s director. “I’ve been talking to museums about these artifacts for years. They look better than I even thought they would.”
Following the first day, admission for the exhibit is $5 for adults, $3.50 for those 65 and older, $3 for college-age students with valid identification and $2 for people 18 and under.
The exhibit will be open to school groups, and all students enrolled in Leflore County schools will be able to see it at no charge.
The Battle of Fort Pemberton was the culmination of the Yazoo Pass Expedition, a failed Union attempt to attack the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg by sending a naval flotilla down the Tallahatchie River.
The flotilla included several Union ironclads. Confederates hastily made fortifications using cotton bales along the banks of the Tallahatchie River.
When Union forces neared, the Confederates scuttled the Star of the West to prevent enemy ships from advancing downriver.
The Star of the West, captured by the Confederates, had the distinction of being the target of the first shots of the Civil War. Confederates fired on the ship when it tried to take supplies to Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C., in 1861 at the start of the war. It was later captured later that year by the Confederates.
This year is significant historically, Taylor said.
Not only is it the sesquicentennial of the Battle of Fort Pemberton and the pivotal battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, but it also is the anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in the Confederate states.
A number of items have been loaned to the museum including items from the Union ironclad U.S.S. Cairo, which was sunk during the Vicksburg campaign. It was later raised and is now on display at the Vicksburg National Military Park.
In addition, period clothing, including a butternut officer’s frock worn by Capt. T. Otis Baker, is on loan from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History along with an officer’s sword reportedly owned by Gen. J.Z. George of the Carroll County Rifles, 5th Mississippi Cavalry. George, who lived at Cotesworth in Carroll County, later served in the U.S. Senate.
Also on display will be a governor ball, used to regulate an engine, from The Star of the West, and a Lady Polk cannon that was used in the battle and is on loan to the museum.
Moreover, Taylor said, the exhibit delves into how everyday people lived in 1863 and includes a homespun dress from 1860.
“This is one of the more complex exhibits that this museum has done in some time,” Taylor said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
