Mississippi Timeline

1812 The Davis Family Settles in Wilkinson County in southwestern Mississippi
During Davis' youth, the family moved twice; in 1811 to St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, and in 1812 to Wilkinson County, Mississippi near the town of Woodville. In 1813, Davis began his educa...
1813 Davis Attends Wilkinson County Academy
DAVIS, Jefferson, (son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor), a Representative and a Senator from Mississippi; born in what is now Fairview, Todd County, Ky., June 3, 1808; moved with his p...
1817 Dec 10 Mississippi is the 20th State Admitted to the Union
The Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7, 1798, from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina. It was later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the...
1818 Davis Attends Jefferson College in Mississippi
Jefferson Davis was born in Christian County, Kentucky on June 3, 1808. He was the youngest of ten children. In 1818, Davis attended Jefferson College in Mississippi, before transferring ...
1840 May 7 Great Natchez Tornado
The Great Natchez Tornado hit Natchez, Mississippi on May 7, 1840. It is the second deadliest single tornado in United States history, killing 317 people (the only tornado in the United S...
1846 Jul Davis Resigns House Seat and Leads the Mississippi Rifles
The year 1846 saw the beginning of the Mexican-American War. He resigned his House seat in June, and raised a volunteer regiment, the Mississippi Rifles, becoming its colonel. On July 21,...
1847 Dec 5 Jefferson Davis Appointed to U.S. Senate
Because of his war service, the governor of Mississippi appointed Davis to fill out the Senate term of the late Jesse Speight. He took his seat December 5, 1847, and was elected to serve ...
1861 Jan 9 Mississippi Secedes from the Union
A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union. In the momentous step which our State has taken of diss...
1862 Apr 29
to 1862 May 30
 First Battle of Corinth
The Siege of Corinth (also known as the First Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to June 10, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. Background Followin...
1862 Apr 29
to 1862 May 30
 Hoax Saves Confederate Army at the Siege of Corinth
The Siege of Corinth (also known as the First Battle of Corinth) was an American Civil War battle fought from April 29 to June 10, 1862, in Corinth, Mississippi. Background Following ...
1862 Sep 19 Battle of Luka
The Battle of Iuka was an American Civil War battle fought on September 19, 1862, in Iuka, Mississippi. In the opening battle of the Iuka-Corinth Campaign, Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rose...
1862 Oct 3
to 1862 Oct 4
 Second Battle of Corinth
The Second Battle of Corinth (which, in the context of the American Civil War, is usually referred to as the Battle of Corinth, to differentiate it from the Siege of Corinth earlier the s...
1862 Dec 26
to 1862 Dec 29
 Battle of Chickasaw Bayou
The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou, also called Walnut Hills,[2] fought December 26–29, 1862, was the opening engagement of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Confederate fo...
1863 Apr 29 Battle of Grand Gulf
The Battle of Grand Gulf was fought on April 29, 1863, during the American Civil War. In the Vicksburg Campaign of Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, Union naval forces under Rear Adm. David D. ...
1863 Apr 29
to 1863 May 1
 Battle of Snyder's Bluff
Description: To insure that troops were not withdrawn to Grand Gulf to assist Confederates there, a combined Union army-navy force feigned an attack on Snyder’s Bluff, Mississippi. After ...
1863 May 12 Battle of Raymond
The Battle of Raymond was fought on May 12, 1863, near Raymond, Mississippi, during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The bitter fight pitted elements of Union Army Maj. G...
1863 May 14 Battle of Jackson - Former Mississippi State Capital Destroyed
The Battle of Jackson, fought on May 14, 1863, in Jackson, Mississippi, was part of the Vicksburg Campaign in the American Civil War. Union commander Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and the Ar...
1863 May 16 Battle of Champion Hill
The Battle of Champion Hill, or Bakers Creek, fought May 16, 1863, was the pivotal battle in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. Union commander Major General Ulysses S. Gra...
1863 May 17 Battle of Big Black River Bridge - Confederate Forces Trapped in Vicksburg
Description: Reeling from their defeat at Champion Hill, the Confederates reached Big Black River Bridge, the night of May 16-17. Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton ordered Brig. Gen. John S. Bow...
1863 May 18
to 1863 Jul 4
 Confederate Forces Surrender at the Siege of Vicksburg
Description: In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On Ju...
1864 Feb 14 Battle of Meridian
Description: From Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sherman launched a campaign to take the important railroad center at Meridian and, if the situation was favorable, push on to Selma, Alabama, and...
1864 Feb 22 Battle of Okolona
Description: From Vicksburg, Mississippi, Sherman launched a campaign to take the important railroad center at Meridian, Mississippi, and if the situation were favorable, to push on to Se...
1864 Feb 22 Battle of West Point, Mississippi
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest routs a Union force three times the size of his army in a battle that helped end Union General William T. Sherman's expedition into Alabama. ...
1864 Jun 10 Battle of Brice's Crossroads
Description: At the beginning of June 1864, Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest set out with his cavalry corps of about 2,000 men to enter Middle Tennessee and destroy the Nashville & Chatta...
1864 Jul 14
to 1864 Jul 15
 Battle of Tupelo
Description: Maj. Gen. A.J. Smith, commanding a combined force of more than 14,000 men, left LaGrange, Tennessee, on July 5, 1864, and advanced south. Smith’s mission was to insure that M...
1919 William Faulkner Attends the University of Mississippi
Faulkner was raised in and heavily influenced by the state of Mississippi, as well as by the history and culture of the South as a whole. When he was four years old, his entire family mov...
1921 Dec
to 1924 Oct
William Faulkner Works as Postmaster of the University of Mississippi
Faulkner’s most notorious stint as a working man was his role of postmaster at the University of Mississippi post office, which incredibly he held for nearly three years. By all accounts,...
1930 William Faulkner purchases 'Rowan Oak'
Rowan Oak, also known as William Faulkner House, is William Faulkner's former home in Oxford, Mississippi. It is a primitive Greek Revival house built in the 1840s by Robert Sheegog. Faul...
1940 Apr 23 The Natchez Fire
The Rhythm Club fire aka The Natchez Dance Hall Holocaust was a conflagration resulting in the death or serious injury of hundreds of people attendees who became trapped inside a one-stor...
1963 Aug 18 James Meredith Becomes the first African-American to Graduate from the University of Mississippi
James H. Meredith returned to the University of Mississippi Sunday to become the 115-year-old institution's first Negro graduate. It was on another Sunday - 282 days before - that Mer...
2010 Apr 30
to 2010 May 7
 2010 Tennessee Floods
President Barack Obama has granted Governor Bredesen’s request for Federal Emergency Assistance for Tennessee. Cheatham, Davidson, Hickman and Williamson counties are included in the decl...
2010 Jun 27 Gulf Oil Spill Reaches Mississippi
Large hunks of thick crude from the BP oil spill washed ashore on a Mississippi beach for the first time Sunday. The town victimized was Ocean Springs, a quaint, tree-canopied, artists'-v...