Vicksburg Civil War Museum vandalized with graffiti

The Vicksburg Civil War Museum was vandalized overnight with graffiti.

“I have no clue, I just don’t have an idea,” said owner Charles Pendleton. The museum on Washington Street was opened in 2021 and tells the story of the Civil War and includes the perspective of those who were enslaved.

Civil War Museum

“I’ve had customers come in who had Confederate ancestors or something, that was, uh, the conversation was uneasy,” explained Pendleton. “If you mention it was about slavery, sometimes people get offended. For the most part, I’ve not had any problems. People come in and say I was never taught this. I thought the war was about state’s rights, I thought it was about money or taxes. But reading these succession letters, we see that it was about slavery.”

Here is a link to the Declaration made by Mississippi. Mississippi seceded from the Union on January 9, 1861. The Declaration reads, in part:

A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union. 

Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery— the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin. 

“You get different opinions because people learn stuff different or they understand it differently. But I’ve never had any really, really bad experiences, until here lately.” Pendleton continues to say, “I even go out on a limb and say not every Confederate was fighting for slavery. If you’re in an area and your out on the battlefield, you’re fighting for your life.”

The Vicksburg Civil War Museum is open Mon-Sat from 9 to 6, and 12 to 5 on Sunday.