Most of us don’t think of Natchez as having much of a Civil War story to tell.

Most of us are dead wrong.

Discounting the importance of the war’s impact on Natchez and Natchez’s involvement in the bloodiest American war would be a gross disservice to history.

Sure, no significant battle was fought here — thankfully. Had a serious conflict occurred here, it almost certainly would have caused the destruction of some of the area’s most historic structures

Today, those structures attract thousands of visitors each year providing a huge share of our area’s economy.

But Natchez’s Civil War involvement, both in the days leading up to the vote for secession through to the South’s surrender, is of importance and historical note.

That history is only now beginning to come to life again, however.

In Natchez, that history includes some surprising facts:

4Residents voted against secession.

4The area sent more soldiers to fight for the Union Army than the Confederate one.

4A number of blacks from the area fought as soldiers.

As our nation and our area begin to work on ways to remember and honor the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War, we thank all of the people who are working hard to get our history in front of a large number of visitors.

Through their work, our area’s unique history can again be shown to the world for enjoyment and education.