Civil War exhibit comes to the Mississippi Delta

Courtesy the Mississippi Dept. of Archives and History

GREENWOOD, Miss. – To commemorate the sesquicentennial of when Union and Confederate forces clashed on the winding rivers of the Mississippi Delta, a new Civil War exhibit will open at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta. The exhibition “War Comes to the Mississippi Delta” will run from January 26 through August 31.

The exhibit will highlight the Battle of Fort Pemberton during the winter of 1863, when Confederate forces held off Union soldiers with the hurriedly constructed Fort Pemberton outpost.

Visitors will see artifacts from the battle, including items from the ocean steamer “Star of the West.” The ship originally served as a Union transport ship, but after being captured by Rebel forces, it was eventually sunk next to Fort Pemberton to block the passage of Union ships on their way to Vicksburg.

Other artifacts that capture the battle include items from the Union’s ironclad “U.S.S. Cairo,“ period clothing and the Lady Polk cannon. Used in the Battle of Fort Pemberton, this unusual canon is one of 17 Civil War-era cannons left in existence today and the only one that has been restored for firing.

A special free event on the exhibition’s opening day will include portrayals of General Ulysses S. Grant, as well as Union and Confederate re-enactors.

For more information, visit www.museumofthemississippidelta.com.