Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

At noon on Wednesday, June 3, as part of the department’s History Is Lunch series, Jeff Giambrone will present “’Pledged to One Country and One Flag’: The Grand Army of the Republic in Mississippi.” The streaming-only program will be shown live on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s Facebook page and uploaded to the MDAH YouTube channel afterwards.

The Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) was the largest and most influential Civil War veterans organization in the United States. Membership peaked in 1890 with more than 400,000 men in 7,000 posts across the country.

“In Mississippi the organization was caught up in the tumultuous politics of the Reconstruction Era as African American veterans fought to establish their own posts,” Giambrone said. “All told there were 23 known Grand Army of the Republic camps in Mississippi, most of which were African American.”

The G.A.R. posts were active in their communities, perpetuating the memory of those who fought for the Union through parades, Memorial Day observances, and lectures. The group also used its influence to advocate with the government for pensions and soldiers homes to aid its members.

“The Grand Army of the Republic left a legacy of honorable service to the country, and many descendants of its members still live in Mississippi today,” said Giambrone.

Jeff T. Giambrone is a native of Bolton. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Mississippi State University and a master’s in history from Mississippi College. Giambrone works as a reference librarian in the state archives. He is the author of four books: Beneath Torn and Tattered Flags: A Regimental History of the 38th Mississippi Infantry, C.S.A.; An Illustrated Guide to the Vicksburg Campaign and National Military Park; Remembering Mississippi's Confederates; and Vicksburg and the War, co-authored with Gordon Cotton. His articles have appeared in North South Civil War Magazine, Military Images Magazine, Civil War Monitor, and North South Trader's Civil War Magazine.

For more information email cgoodwin@mdah.ms.gov or call 601-576-6998.

At noon on Wednesday, June 17, as part of the department’s History Is Lunch series, William C. Lester will present “The Delta and Dockery.” The streaming-only program will be shown live on the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s Facebook page and added to the MDAH YouTube channel afterwards.

Dockery Plantation was a 25,600-acre cotton plantation and sawmill on the Sunflower River between Ruleville and Cleveland. It is widely regarded as the place where Delta blues music was born.

“They say the Delta starts in the Peabody in Memphis and ends on Catfish Row in Vicksburg,” said Lester. “Over 100 miles long and 50 miles wide, an alluvial flood plain of the Mississippi River untold years in the making, on that flood plain swamp lived many different people and their families. And the stories of those families that tamed the swamp into one of the most productive farmlands in the world is the story of the Delta.”

Lester is executive director of the Dockery Farms Foundation, whose mission is to preserve the historic property and heritage of Dockery Farms and to develop these for educational purposes and the public interest in music, agriculture, and the history of the Mississippi Delta.

William C. Lester was born in Memphis. He earned a BA and MFA from the University of Mississippi. From 1974 to 2008 he worked in the art department of Delta State University, serving as chair from 2004 to 2008. He has been executive director of the Dockery Farms Foundation since 2004.

History Is Lunch is broadcast from the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium in the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—in Jackson. For more information call 601-576-6998 or email cgoodwin@mdah.ms.gov.

Based on information provided by the Mississippi Department of Health about the coronavirus pandemic, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History will close all sites beginning Friday, March 13. The Museum of Mississippi History, Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Eudora Welty House and Garden, Mississippi Governor’s Mansion, Old Capitol Museum, and William F. Winter Archives and History Building, and Charlotte Capers Building in Jackson, Grand Village of the Natchez Indians in Natchez, and Winterville Mounds near Greenville will all close until further notice.

All public events at MDAH sites through the end of May have been postponed, including the weekly History Is Lunch program and the Mississippi Freedom Seder event on April 2, at the Two Mississippi Museums. The New Stage Theater event at the Old Capitol Museum on March 31, and the Powwow at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians on March 28, have also been postponed.

For more information email info@mdah.ms.gov or call 601-576-6822.

The Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum are partnering with the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mississippi Veterans Affairs, and the Mississippi War Veterans Memorial Commission to honor Mississippians who serve and have served in the United States Armed Forces. The event begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 9, in the Nancy and Ray Neilsen Hall of History at the Two Mississippi Museums.

“Mississippi’s extraordinary record of military service is one of the most inspiring stories that we share in the Two Mississippi Museums,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “We are pleased to join with our military service organizations to pay special tribute to all the many Mississippians who have served our country.”

The event will also commemorate Armistice Day, the signing of the agreement on November 11, 1918, to mark the end of World War I. This year marks 100 years since the end of the Great War, in which 56,740 Mississippians served. In 1954, Armistice Day was replaced with Veterans Day to honor all military veterans.

The program will include a performance by the 41st Army Band, a moment of silence, recognition of the veterans in attendance, memorial volley, wreath laying, and a keynote speech delivered by Major General Janson D. Boyles, Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard. Afterwards, the museums are offering special tours to military veterans and their families.

“The Daughters of the American Revolution and Mississippi War Memorial Commission have long honored those who serve with a Veterans Day program,” said Colonel Allen McDaniel, executive director of the National Guard Association of Mississippi. “However, we are very excited to partner with the Two Mississippi Museums and Mississippi Veterans Affairs to further expand the celebration and services for these outstanding patriots.”

From Friday, November 9, to Sunday, November 11, the museums are offering free admission to military veterans and a family member. The Mississippi Veterans Affairs will also be on hand to provide updates to veterans on available services. For more information, call 601-540-2794 or email amcdaniel@ngams.org.