Flags From Mississippi: Emblems Through Time Exhibit Opens March 9
Flags From Mississippi: Emblems Through Time opens March 9 at the Two Mississippi Museums in the FedEx Exhibition Hall. Rarely shown state, national, and military flags from the collection of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will be on display through November 8. Admission to this exhibit is free.
“The Two Mississippi Museums are excited to share this free, special flag exhibition curated by MDAH staff,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “We invite the public to explore and examine how flags illustrate the various ways inhabitants of Mississippi have chosen to symbolize threads of culture and belief throughout time.”
The exhibit features 20 flags made from a variety of fabrics, such as wool and silk. Some were sewn by hand. Highlights include an original Magnolia flag, adopted in 1861 as the first official flag of Mississippi, that has been saved by conservators after it became severely fragmented.
The show also includes military flags and battle flags captured during the Civil War. Visitors will see the First National Flag of the Confederacy, commonly known as the Stars and Bars, which was seized by Samuel Loring Percival Ayers of the USS Pensacola at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. Another highlight is a reproduction of the 5th Heavy Artillery Regimental flag of the United States Colored Troops, an African American regiment formed in Vicksburg that fought in the Battle of Milliken’s Bend.
A flag officially adopted by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in 1994 displays symbols expressing resilience, progress achieved in the face of adversity, and Choctaw political ties spanning the last 500 years with Mississippi, the United States, Spain, and France.
Flags From Mississippi: Emblems Through Time exhibit programming includes free gallery talks on March 14, June 14, and August 22, and a lecture at the History Is Lunch program on August 21.
For more information, go to https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/visit/hours-admission or call 601-576-6850.