Yankee Sentiment in a Southern Town

In a May 15, 2023, article for the Mississippi Free Press, Virginia Sciolino wrote, “Union troops burned some southern cities, including Atlanta and Richmond, to destroy supplies and property that could benefit the Confederate Army. … However, Natchez was never burned.”

Like many 19th-century river trade towns, Natchez, Mississippi, was home to a diverse population. Often compared to the “Wild West,” the town’s residents ranged from devout Christians to hardened criminals and all points in between. The Natchez City Cemetery—once named the South’s most interesting cemetery by Turner South Network—reflects this diversity, with sections designated for Whites, Blacks, Jews, Catholics, Confederates, Unionists, and more. Over its long and complex history, Natchez was governed by the French, Spanish, English, and, eventually, Americans.

As a thriving commercial hub, Natchez was not particularly dependent on state or federal support. As a result, enthusiasm for secession was lukewarm. Many wealthy slaveholders echoed Alexander Stephens’ belief that slavery was more secure within the Union than outside it. 

In a 2004 article for Prologue titled "Not Quite Southern: The Precarious Allegiance of the Natchez Nabobs in the Sectional Crisis," historian William K. Scarborough summarized: “The Natchez nabobs never quite became Southerners, and they elected to remain loyal to the land of their heritage when the long-smoldering sectional conflict erupted into open warfare in 1860s.”

The National Park Service supports this view, stating, “For the most part, the wealthy Natchez planters did not support secession from the Union in 1861 … but their sons joined the Confederate Army nonetheless.” In addition, at the outset of the war, many Northern laborers who had been building plantations left immediately to return home, with some likely joining the Union Army.

Today, this divided allegiance is evident to the thousands of tourists who visit the area’s grand historic houses. Brandon Hall was owned by New Yorker William Bolling; Homewood Plantation belonged to Pennsylvanian John Hardeman; and Glenfield Plantation was owned by New Yorker William S. Balfour. In addition, slave ownership in Natchez was not limited to white Southerners—Blacks and Native Americans also owned enslaved people. For example, William Johnson, a mixed-race man known as “The Barber of Natchez,” owned at least fifteen slaves, and his contributions to the town remain a tourist attraction.

The Mississippi River divides Natchez, Mississippi, from Vidalia, Louisiana, with what is now known as Giles Island lying between them. This island was the site of the famous 1827 “Sandbar Fight,” which popularized the Bowie knife, the large blade used by Jim Bowie during the conflict. The region is steeped in history, and both sides of the river have capitalized on its past. 

Unlike some other Southern cities, Natchez emerged from the Civil War relatively unscathed. Why? Perhaps because many of the area’s largest slaveholders were Northerners. Today, Natchez boasts one of the greatest collections of antebellum architecture in the country.

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