Rodney, Jefferson County, MS

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:22:22 +0000

Once a very important port on the Mississippi River, it is now considered a ghost town having been forsaken by both railroads and the river. It’s history can be traced to the early 18th Century when it was originally known as Petit Gulf, in contrast to Grand Gulf which is situated a little further upstream.¹ Rodney was incorporated in 1828 and named for Judge Thomas Rodney.² Rodney’s claim to fame comes from an incident that occurred during the US Civil War. On September 12, 1863 about 25 members of the crew of the USS Rattler, including the captain, were captured by Confederate cavalrymen while attending church services at the Presbyterian church in Rodney. The church still stands and carries scars from where the USS Rattler’s remaining crew fired upon it after finding out about the capture of their fellow crew members.³

http://www.southpoint.com/states/ms/rodney.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney,_Mississippi#Early_history
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodney,_Mississippi#Civil_War_effects

Windsor Ruins, Claiborne County, MS

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:43:41 +0000

The ruins of the Windsor Plantation. Once considered one of the most stately mansions on the Mississippi River, if not the entire South. So majestic that it even inspired Walt Whitman to write about it.¹ Built between 1859-1861 by Smith Coffee Daniell II, it was the main house of a 2600 acre plantation built on land that once comprised Judge Bruin’s land grant. During the US Civil War it was the first house Union troops encountered after landing about one mile west of Windsor at Bruinsburg during the second Vicksburg Campaign. It survived the war only to be destroyed in 1890 by a careless house guest and his cigar.²

http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/vcmpgn/windsor.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Ruins

Emerald Mound, Adams County, MS

admin — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 07:05:30 +0000

A ceremonial mound built and occupied by the ancestors of the Natchez tribe between 1250 and 1600 AD. It is the second largest ceremonial earthwork in the United States.¹ The largest being the Monk’s Mound at Cahokia in Illinois.²

http://www.nps.gov/archeology/feature/emerald.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia#Monk.27s_Mound

Bruinsburg, Claiborne County, MS

admin — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:49:48 +0000

A boat landing on the Mississippi River that was the site of Grant’s amphibious landing in 1863 during the second Vicksburg Campaign of the US Civil War. The landing, involving over 24,000 troops, was the largest amphibious operation in American military history until World War II.¹

Settled in 1788 by Peter Bryan Bruin when the area was under Spanish rule and known as the Natchez District.

Bruin was born in Ireland and migrated to the American colonies to avoid problems arising from some potentially anti-government activities.² A veteran of the Revolutionary War, he was wounded in 1775 during the Battle of Quebec while serving with Brigadier General Richard Montgomery. Bruin was captured by the British and held on a prison ship for six months until released during a prisoner exchange.³ He would later be promoted to Major and serve out the remainder of the war.

In 1788 Bruin received a Spanish land grant and settled the area.⁴ Then in 1798 the area would be transferred to the United States from Spain and the Mississippi Territory was formed⁵ After the transfer of power Bruin was appointed as a judge.⁶ In 1807 Aaron Burr would visit Bruin, whom he met during the Revolutionary War, while under suspicion of treason in connection with an incident that would be known as the Burr Conspiracy. Burr surrendered to territorial authorities but was found not guilty by a grand jury and released.⁷ In 1808 Bruin would resign his judgeship under threat of removal due to an alcohol problem.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/vick/camptrail/sites/Mississippi-sites/BruinsburgMS.htm
http://genealogytrails.com/miss/judge%20bios.htm
http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=2827
http://genealogytrails.com/miss/judge%20bios.htm
http://www.shgresources.com/ms/timeline/
http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=2879
http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?id=2909

David Holmes (1769 - 1832)

admin — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 04:39:32 +0000

David Holmes was born at Mary Ann Furnace, near Hanover, York County, Pa. on March 10, 1769 and was raised near Winchester, VA. Elected to the United States House of Representatives in Virginia, he served from 1797 until 1809 when he was appointed as the governor of the Mississippi Territory. He served as the territorial governor until 1817 when Mississippi was admitted to the Union as the 20th state. Subsequently, he was elected as Mississippi’s first governor in 1817 and would serve in that office until 1820 when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Walter Leake. Holmes served in the Senate until 1825 when he was again elected as governor. He resigned in 1826 due to poor health.¹ In 1827 Holmes returned to Winchester, VA where he remained until he passed away in 1832. He is interred in Mount Hebron Cemetery.²

Conrad, D.H. “David Holmes: First Governor of Mississippi.” Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society Vol. 4., ed. Roland Dunbar, 234-257. Jackson, MS: Mississippi Historical Society, 1921.
”Biographical Directory of the United States Senate.” http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000735 (14 Feb 2009).