News
Battle of Champion Hill to be celebrated May 16
VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) —The Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park and the Licensed Battlefield Guides of Vicksburg will commemorate the Battle of Champion Hill, Saturday, May 16, 2026, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Coker House, the only antebellum house left on the battlefield. The Coker House is located at Adams Lane, Edwards, MS 39066, and is a unit of Vicksburg National Military Park.
As part of the commemoration activities, Mr. Duffy Neubauer, Curator at the Starkville Civil War Arsenal, will have an original Civil War 24 pd Howitzer, that was actually at the Champion Hill Battle, as part of McCallister’s Battery, Battery D, 1st Illinois Light Artillery. Mr. Neubauer and fellow reenactors will demonstrate the loading and firing drill as well as talk about the gun at the battle.
Also, Mr. Sid Champion V, a prominent historian, storyteller, and the great-great-grandson of Sid and Matilda Champion, who owned the land where the pivotal 1863 Battle of Champion Hill took place in Mississippi, will be present to talk about his family.
Morgan Gates, local historian and a Licensed Battlefield Guide of Vicksburg, will portray Lieutenant General John Pemberton and present a program on him. Morgan is nationally recognized for his portrayal of Pemberton.
Mike Bryant, local historian and Licensed Battlefield Guide of Vicksburg, will present a program on the 8th Missouri and Civil War Infantry tactics and how they were used at Champion Hill.
Licensed Battlefield Guides of Vicksburg, who provide guided tours of the Vicksburg National Military Park and Campaign will also present some programs on Champion Hill throughout the day at the Coker House and The Crossroads.
Bess Averett, Executive Director of the Friends of Vicksburg NMP and Campaign, will have information about the Friends Group and answer questions about the preservation efforts of Champion Hill.
A program schedule for the day is below. You can bring your own chairs to listen to the programs if you would like.
Program Schedule
Coker House Programs
09:00 – 09:20 – How did we get to Champion Hill?
09:30 – 09:50 – Actions at Champion Hill/Coker House
10:00 – 10:30 – McAllister’s Battery Demonstration
10:30 – 10:50 – LTG Pemberton Speaks
11:00 – 11:30 – Confederate Commanders – Loring, Bowen, Stevenson, Lee
11:30-12:00 – Sid Champion V, and Champion’s Hill
12:00-1:00 – Lunch
12:15-12:45 – Union Commanders – Grant, McClernand, McPherson, Hovey, Logan
1:00-1:30 – 8th Missouri at Champion Hill
1:40-2:00 – McAllister’s Battery Demonstration
2:00-2:20 – LTG Pemberton Speaks
2:30-1:00 – Sid Champion V, and Champion’s Hill
3:00-3:30 – McAllister’s Battery Demonstration/Travel to Battery Position
3:30 – 4:00 – Champion Hill Outcomes /What happens to BG Tilghman?
Informal Programs All Day at the Coker House, Civil War Camp & an original
Civil War 24 pdr Howitzer(cannon) that was at Champion Hill on May 16, 1863
Crossroads Programs
10:50 – 11:30 – Actions at Crossroads
1200-1:00 – Lunch
1:15-2:15 – Actions on Crossroads
3:15-3:45 – Actions on Crossroads
