The state of Mississippi has seen more than its share of turmoil over the last two centuries from the strife of the civil rights movement to the bloodshed of the Civil War.... all of which has left behind the spirits of the past.

Mississippi became the second state to secede from the Union in 1861 and became the "Republic of Mississippi" under the Confederate States of America. The fact that Confederate president Jefferson Davis hailed from Mississippi gave the state a particular closeness to the new government and then it would go on to have a pivotal role in the Confederacy throughout the war. 

Beginning in the spring of 1862, Mississippi became a battleground and there were few sections of the state which did not see destruction and devastation. In 1863, the state would capture the attention of the nation during the terrible Siege of Vicksburg, which is described in greater detail in the section about the ghosts of that city.