See the first motion picture filmed in Mississippi

Last updated: August 5, 2026

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) —  The Vicksburg National Military Park will soon open an exhibit featuring the first motion picture filmed in the Magnolia State.

The exhibit will celebrate the 110th anniversary of the silent movie, The Crisis with display at the park’s Visitor Center.

Battle scenes were shot on location at South Fort (on Washington Street between
Navy Circle and Louisiana Circle), at Fort Garrott (Tour Stop 14), and at the Yazoo Diversion Canal opposite the Vicksburg National Cemetery (Tour Stop 8).

Five hundred Mississippi National Guard troops portrayed Union and Confederate soldiers and river barges were made to look like ironclad gunboats on the Diversion Canal.

From May 20 to June 2, 1916, Vicksburg was enthralled with moviemaking and hundreds of citizens took
part as “extras”.

 While only lasting seven minutes, battle scenes shot in the park captivated audiences and critics alike for their realism and once again put Vicksburg on the map and back in the history books.

Other famous motion pictures with scenes shot in Vicksburg include: O Brother Where
Art Thou? (2000), Mississippi Burning (1988), and My Stolen Life (2021),
to name but a few.

For more information about The Crisis, come and see the exhibit in the park’s Visitor Center for the month of August 2026 and join the in celebrating the 110th anniversary of Vicksburg movie making!