Just Some of the Mansions of Natchez, Mississippi

Natchez is the oldest continuous settlement on the Mississippi River and will celebrate her 300th birthday in 2016.  At the outbreak of the Civil War there were twenty millionaires in the United States.  TEN of them lived in Natchez.  Mansions abounded, with everyone trying to outdo the other.  When Vicksburg fell to General Grant, Natchez quickly sent word to Grant surrendering the city so they wouldn't suffer the same fate as Vicksburg.  Therefore, the mansions of the city were not burned down and and remain today as tour homes or bed and breakfasts.  We only had time to visit just three of those mansions.

The Federal-style mansion, Rosalie, was built in 1820.  During the Civil War, the owner, Mrs. Wilson, was untiring in her services to the Confederacy and fell under suspicion during the federal occupation of Natchez.  She was arrested and banished to Atlanta.

I risked arrest myself when I snapped a few photos of this parlor as we were ushered inside for the tour.  I had to put away my camera when they finally told us "no photos allowed inside the house."

Once poor Mrs. Wilson was banished, her home became headquarters for the Union officers in Natchez.

The back door of the mansion is just as elegant as the front.  Rosalie still  contains many of the same furnishings Mrs. Wilson left behind.  Too bad I can't show them to you!

Our next stop was Stanton Hall built by a wealthy cotton planter and broker in 1857.

This mansion, too, contains many of its original furnishings.  Unfortunately, I can't show them to you either.  

On the outskirts of Natchez is the largest octagonal house in America called Longwood.  Planned in 1859 for cotton nabob Haller Nutt and his wife, Julia, it was begun in 1860.  Using the octagon form with four main floors, a fifth-story solarium and a sixth-story observatory, the structure was designed to have 32 rooms, each with its own entrance onto a balcony.

Work progressed rapidly and the gigantic shell was soon up.

In April 1861, all of Mr. Nutt's dreams were smashed by the declaration of war.

The Philadelphia craftsmen dropped their saws and hammers and fled North to pick up rifles and bayonets, never to return.

A dejected Mr. Nutt and a few local workers and slaves completed the basement level.  Originally planned to have a wine cellar, school room, recreation room, and office, the basement was converted to living quarters for the Nutts and their eight children.

They lived in relative comfort in the basement, but, on June 15, 1864 Haller Nutt died in the basement of his unfinished mansion.

Julia and the children lived on in the basement doing only a minimum to maintain the great hulk looming over them.  They had lost their great fortune during the war and were never able to finish their dream home.

We enjoyed our visit to some of the historic homes in Natchez but there are many more to visit.  So many mansions, so little time!

Rosswood Plantation

As it happens, our 40th wedding anniversary falls on Easter this year.  Since we wanted to go to church on Resurrection Sunday, we decided to celebrate a week early with a trip to Natchez and a stay at a beautiful plantation.

Rosswood is actually out in the countryside a good 30 minute drive north of Natchez.  It was built in 1857 at a cost of $10,735.64.

The owner was wealthy Doctor Walter Ross Wade and he had a cotton plantation of 1250 acres and 105 slaves.  The architect was David Shroder, the architect of nearby Windsor, whose ruins I posted about earlier.  

When the mansion was completed, Dr. Wade had a big celebration and mothers from miles around brought their single daughters to, hopefully, attract the widowed doctor.  Dr. Wade met the widowed Mabella Chamberlain and they were happily married until his death from Yellow Fever a few years after the Civil War started.

Mabella continued living at Rosswood, losing her kitchen to a cannonball fired during  the nearby Battle of the Cotton Bales.  Yes, it was a battle over valuable bales of cotton and was eventually won by the south. 

After the battle, Mabella went out, gathered up the wounded, from both sides, and brought them into her home to nurse.

In the library are volumes of diaries kept by Dr. Wade, including a list of slaves and their monetary value.  However, he wanted to free his slaves and eventually paid passage for many of them to return to Liberia, Africa where they settled a new town and called it Mississippi.

At the end of the war, the remaining slaves had no where else to go and begged Mabella to be allowed to stay on the plantation.  However, it was against the law to keep slaves without paying them wages.  To do so could result in forfeiture of your land.

Mabella had no money now, so she made a deal with them.  In return for planting and harvesting the cotton she would take it to New Orleans, sell it and, then, share the profit with them. 

Eventually, Mabella died and the plantation fell into ruin.  But, in 1975, Colonel Walt Hylander and his wife, Jean, looking for a southern mansion to call their own, purchased the house and the surrounding 100 acres.

They began a five year renovation project with Jean furnishing Rosswood with the antiques she had collected from their travels in the military, and trips to auctions in New Orleans where she purchased this rare dining room set.

Upon the suggestion of friends and family, the Hylanders opened the house to tours and overnight guests.

We were very comfortable in our room!

All the rooms were beautiful though.

Jean says the second floor veranda is her favorite place in the house calling it "a little slice of heaven."

I think we would agree!

And, remember the slaves who had been freed and returned to Africa?  A few years ago Jean had a knock at her door.  There stood a number of people visiting from Africa.  They had come to see the Rosswood Plantation they had heard so much about and to learn more about the doctor that had freed their ancestors. What a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary! 

Monroe, Louisiana

Vicksburg is right on Mississippi's border with Louisiana so we have the opportunity of exploring both states while we are here.  We wanted to give Maggie a chance to spend the weekend at her new kennel so we took the opportunity to visit the Duck Dynasty gift shop in Monroe, Louisiana.

We found their shop not far off the freeway in an industrial area of West Monroe.  They have a separate parking lot for visitors so you have to walk across the lot you see on the show.

They have a couple large vehicles parked outside so you don't miss their place.

And, of course, there is the loading dock featured on several episodes of the show.

But, inside, is where the real action takes place - and it was crowded!  And, yes, I bought a duck call.  Several of them.

We had time to see one other place and Hubby chose the Chennault Aviation and Military Museum over a tour home.  Big surprise.

The museum is named after General Chennault, founder of World War II's Flying Tigers and a native of Monroe.

Inside, they had an excellent short film about the Flying Tigers and the service of our military men and women.  I don't mind telling you I had tears in my eyes afterward.

The museum is larger than it looks like on the outside and had displays on every war the United States has ever participated in.

They didn't forget women in the military either.

Hubby could have spent all day at this museum!

We had a good time in Louisiana - but next time, I'm looking at a house!

Vicksburg National Military Park

No visit to Vicksburg would be complete without a tour of the Civil War battlefield.  That 1863 battle had such an impact on the city of Vicksburg you can still see the effects of it today. President Lincoln called Vicksburg "the key" to winning the war and sent General Grant to clear the Mississippi of 

Confederate resistance.  We had toured the battlefield many years ago but we were in a hurry to get home then and didn't really take the time to understand everything we saw - so it deserved a second look!

We began our visit in the small visitor's center where we saw....

.....exhibits on the life of soldiers and officers in the field......

.......and exhibits on the lives of the citizens of Vicksburg who left their homes and waited out the bombardment, and siege, in caves they dug into the hillsides.

When Grant's direct attacks on the city failed, he began a formal siege.  He set up artillery batteries to hammer the Confederate fortifications from the land side while gunboats blasted the city from the river.  Massive trenches were dug by both sides of the conflict and they remain today.

The Shirley House is the only surviving wartime structure in the park.  During the siege it served as headquarters for the 45th Illinois Infantry.  The owners refused to leave and took refuge in the basement.

This battlefield, like all the other ones we have visited, has it's share of war memorials and cannons.  But, perhaps, the nicest one we've ever seen in the Illinois Monument built near the Shirley House.

However, the most impressive sight in the park is the miles of trenches that were hand dug by thousands of men in an attempt to avoid being hit by enemy sharpshooters.

Many of the trenches were within hailing distance of the enemy.

Union troops dug a tunnel beneath this road to avoid crossing a ridge where they would be exposed to Confederate fire.  It was said they "fought with a gun in one hand and a shovel in the other."

The important Navel contribution was not forgotten either.  This monument is flanked on each side by the important commanders of the gunboats that pressed Vicksburg from the water.

Also, along the 16 mile tour, is the first vessel ever sunk by a mine.  On December 12, 1862, the Union ironclad gunboat Cairo, along with several other vessels had tried to destroy Confederate batteries when, suddenly, two quick explosions tore holes in the Cairo's bottom.  It sunk in minutes.  

In the 1960s the boat's remains, and many of the crew's personal gear, were salvaged from the bottom of the river.

Unlike most of the other states, Missouri has a monument to men who fought on both sides of the war since it's citizenry were divided in their beliefs.

Finally, after 46 long days of siege, Confederate General Pemberton met with General Grant to discuss terms of surrender.  On July 4, 1863 Vicksburg was officially surrendered.