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STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

The article below was written in 1885 and makes interesting reading.

Topography: The extreme length of Mississippi north and south is 332 miles; extreme breadth, 189 miles; average breadth, 142 miles; area, 46,810 square miles, or 29,958,400 acres. In the north, from Vicksburg to the Tennessee border, is the Mississippi bottom, a low, flat, swampy country, though extremely fertile. The central and southern divisions are generally hilly, with an average elevation of from 100 to 200 feet above sea level. There are extensive marshes in the extreme south. The actual coast line on the Gulf of Mexico is about ninety miles, but owing to irregularities the measurement is almost doubled. The drainage of the State is by the Mississippi and its tributaries, the Big Black, Yazoo and Bayou Pierre; and by the Pearl and Pascagoula rivers, directly into the Gulf. The Tennessee forms a part of the boundary in the northeast, and the Tombigbee rises in the same section and flows into Alabama.

History: Mississippi was first traversed by De Soto in 1542, and was seen by LaSalle 140 years later, when he descended the river. The first settlement was made in 1699, when M. de Iberville erected a fort at Biloxi. This entire region was known as Louisiana, the name being given in honor of Louis. XIV. In 1703 settlements were made on the Yazoo, and the population gradually increased until the Indian war of 1728, when all the whites were murdered by the confederate tribes. In 1733 there was another war with the Chickasaws, which ended in their defeat. In 1763 nearly all the territory east of the Mississippi was transferred to England, while Spain, a few years later, became the owner of the French possessions west of that stream, as well as of the Gulf coast to the Florida line.

After the Revolution the Territory of Mississippi was organized out of lands claimed by Georgia. In 1802 Georgia ceded to the United States her lands south of the Tennessee line, which were annexed to Mississippi Territory. In 1811 the United States wrested from Spain its possessions on the Gulf coast and added them to Mississippi, which then included the present State and Alabama. A State constitution was adopted in 1817, and the boundaries were fixed as they now exist, Alabama being formed into a separate Territory. Mississippi was admitted into the Union Dec. 10, 1817, being the seventh State to come in under the Federal constitution. The capital was located at Jackson in 1822, previous meetings of the legislature having been held at Washington, Columbia and Natchez. The infant Territory responded promptly to Gen. Jackson's call for troops in 1814, and the State filled its quota when volunteers were called for during the Mexican war.

In 1860 the population had reached nearly 800,000, the slaves largely outnumbering the whites. The State was among the first to adopt an ordinance of secession, and to ratify the Confederate constitution. On Dec. 31, 1861, the Federal troops captured Biloxi, on the Gulf of Mexico, and in the following spring Corinth was taken. Oct. 3 and 4 the Confederates attempted to recapture Corinth, but were repulsed with heavy loss. The operations which resulted in the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, were among the, most important of the war, and practically ended all operations in that State, subsequent events being only of minor importance. The city, which stands upon high bluff, was strongly fortified during the first year of the war, and commanded the navigation of the Mississippi, which Farragut's victory at New Orleans had cleared to Port Hudson. An attempt was made in May, 1862, to procure its surrender. The State was not readmitted to representation in Congress until 1870. In August, 1865, the constitution was amended by abolishing slavery, and the ordinance of secession was repealed. A new constitution was adopted in 1869, which was amended in 1877.

Population: Census of 1880: Males, 567,177; Females, 564,420; Native, 1,122,388; Foreign, 9,209; White, 479,398; Colored, 682,199, including 51 Chinese and 1,857 Indiana and Half-breeds.