"Grant's crown of immortality was won, and the jewel that shone most brightly in it was set
there by the blood of the men of Champion Hills ...... Six thousand blue and gray-coated men were lying there in the woods, dead or wounded, when the last gun of Champion Hills was fired.

Major S. H. M. Byers, Fifth Iowa Infantry

Announcing

152nd Anniversary Event

Saturday, May 16, 2015
Champion Hill MB Church Grounds

8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

A Day at Champion Hill

Old Fashioned Barbecue

Stroll to the "Hill of Death"

Civil War Exhibits

Blue & Gray Skirmish

Historic Marker Dedications

Book Signings

Ice Cream

and more....

Event Performances by:
Angel Bandits

Lewis Family Singers
Men's Trio

Admission is Free

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Bertram Hayes-Davis to Speak at 152nd Anniversary Event

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Blue & Gray Reunion
Champion Hill, 1890

The New Mississippian,
(Jackson, Mississippi) June 4, 1890

     The Blue and the Gray Re-union at Vicksburg last week was taken advantage of to celebrate the battle of Champion Hill, by a grand barbecue and picnic on Thursday last [May 29]. 
     This historic battle-ground is situated on a lofty eminence one mile South of a point on the A. & V. R. R. about midway between Jackson and Vicksburg. The two regular trains from Jackson were loaded to the guards with passengers, and in the two excursion trains run out from Vicksburg the sign “standing room only,” was early displayed, while the wagon roads were lined with vehicles and dust.

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Quotes by Matilda Champion
Wife of Lt. Col. Sid S. Champion,
28th Mississippi Cavalry

May 30, 1863
From “Brae Mar”, Matilda’s parent’s plantation home in Madison County

     We are ruined already and I feel now that if I can only keep what I have saved I will be satisfied. And, when this war is over, if ever in my day, if you are spared to me we can begin again….it is a thought that I dare not think upon – that of being homeless and widowed, my children orphans of this terrible cruel war. Yet the thought will present itself and then I am unfit for anything. I could endure hardships and privations provided you were spared to me.

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Memories of Other Days
Recalled at Montgomery

Touching and Thrilling Scene When the Venerable President of the Confederacy Laid the Cornerstone at the Women’s Monument

When the good King Cyrus made it possible for the people of Israel to go back home after long captivity there was great rejoicing, and on arrival immediate effort was put forth to get the temple rebuilt. As the time came around to begin work there was jubilation and shouting, but above the noise of the glad throng came the sound of weeping and the cry of many in sorrow. The old men were grieved for the magnificence of the former temple, for the time that once was in the glory of Israel.

Today, when the throngs that had gathered from the country around surged up the steps of the Capitol to greet and honor the President of all the people, a good man and a strong man and the shouts of the populace arose in cheers for the head of the nation, many a grizzled countenance wore a look of sorrow and down numberless furrowed cheeks ran the salty tears. They recalled the day when they gathered to welcome the man who had stood at the head of the Confederacy, when after the failure of the Lost Cause had gone by twenty odd years, Jefferson Davis, sick and feeble, left his comfortable Mississippi home to lay the cornerstone of the monument built by the efforts of the good women of the South in memory of the noble men who sacrificed life and fortune on the altar of the Southern Confederacy.

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I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill

By Bertha Lewis

A Memorial Poem Read at the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Champion Hill

For almost half a century, Bertha Lewis has felt the ghost of the soldiers who fought on the land she calls home. Home for Bertha is Champion Hill where Blue met Gray on May 16, 1863, in a pivotal battle that turned the tide for the Union Army. Her poem “I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill” was written for the Sesquicentennial of the Battle of Champion Hill. Bertha's desire was to honor those who fought and died and their ancestors who received honorary medallions in their memory.

Ed Shelnut, actor and performer, read “I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill” at the Sesquicentennial event. Ed is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild. He has appeared in three feature films and numerous radio & TV shows. Ed is presently an instructor at the Mississippi School for the Blind.

I Was There: The Battle of Champion Hill

By Bertha Lewis

A Memorial Poem

 
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Commemorative Medallions  

Sesquicentennial Event

Battle of Champion Hill

May 18, 2013

Medallion Honoring
The Soldiers Who Fought

Medallions are now available for purchase by the public.

Plain Medallions ~ $20

Medallions in presentation boxes or on plastic presentation stands ~ $25

Champion Hill Tours
With Sid Champion V