OPINION: Reviving Battlefield Park: Milk Vicksburg and preserve Jackson’s history

By Selika Sweet, M.D., FAAFP

JA Guest Writer

I enjoy traveling around Jackson, the capital city of Magnolia State. One day, as I drove along I-20 and turned onto Gallatin Street, I stopped to take a closer look at Battlefield Park.

I found myself wondering: What happened here? Why does this place matter? And why does a park connected to one of the most consequential periods in Mississippi history seem almost forgotten?

Wanting to know more, I began reading The Civil War Siege of Jackson, Mississippi by James Woodrick. The book helped me better understand Jackson’s place in the Vicksburg Campaign and complicated the traditional image of a great “Battle of Jackson.”

Some consequential fighting had already taken place at Raymond, where Confederate forces were defeated as Union forces advanced toward the state capital. Jackson became an important part of the larger campaign that ultimately led to the fall of Vicksburg. Black soldiers serving in the United States Colored Troops would also become part of Mississippi’s Civil War story, a history that deserves greater recognition.

Today, Battlefield Park sits in a predominantly Black area of Jackson. Over the decades, population and investment shifted away from parts of the city as families and businesses moved to Rankin County, Madison County, and elsewhere. Battlefield Park and the surrounding neighborhoods have not received the attention or investment in their history and potential deserve.

The tennis courts remain, but the swimming pool is no longer operating. Historic earthworks need attention. The cannonball display is rusting and deteriorating. A place that could help tell Jackson’s story instead gives the impression that we have forgotten a piece of our own history.

Gallatin Street could become part of a historical and cultural corridor connecting preservation, recreation, neighborhood revitalization, and tourism.

And we do not have to invent tourists.

Milk Vicksburg.

When I travel through Vicksburg, I see license plates from across the country and visitors from around the world who have come to Mississippi to experience its history. Vicksburg has something Jackson should take greater advantage of: tourists who are already here and already interested in the history that connects our cities.

So, yes, milk Vicksburg.

Invite those visitors at the mouth of the Delta to continue their journey east. Give them a reason to follow the campaign route through Raymond and into Jackson. Give them a reason to spend another day, perhaps another night, in central Mississippi.

Imagine Battlefield Park restored as part of that experience. Visitors could learn not only about generals and armies, but also about the ordinary people whose lives the Civil War transformed.

For some African Americans, Civil War sites can feel distant or unwelcoming when the story is presented primarily through Confederate generals, monuments, and military movements. But that is not an argument for abandoning these places.

It is an argument for telling more history.

Tell the stories of enslaved people seeking freedom. Tell the stories of free African Americans and Black men who served in the United States Army. Tell the stories of soldiers on both sides, women and children caught in the conflict, and communities that endured destruction and upheaval.

History belongs to all of us.

Now imagine something more.

Imagine attractive lighting along Gallatin Street. Imagine Battlefield Park with its earthworks preserved, displays restored, and grounds beautifully maintained. Imagine recreational facilities and a renewed community center serving the people who live there today.

Imagine schoolchildren walking through the park with their teachers and historians leading tours. Imagine buses arriving from Vicksburg and Raymond.

Then imagine those visitors eating in Jackson restaurants, staying in Jackson hotels, visiting our museums, buying gasoline, and shopping in our businesses.

Every visitor who stays another night or eats another meal contributes to the local economy.

That is not simply historic preservation. That is economic development.

Something breaks. It remains broken. Years have passed. Eventually, what should be unacceptable begins to look normal.

It should not.

Revitalizing Battlefield Park doesn’t have to happen overnight or start with a multimillion-dollar project. Start with the basics. Clean it. Maintain it. Preserve the earthworks. Restore the displays. Improve the lighting. Add signs that tell visitors what happened there. Then develop a serious plan for the park and surrounding corridor.

City and state leaders, neighborhood residents, historians, preservation organizations, tourism officials, businesses, churches, and universities could come together around a shared vision. Explore state and federal historic preservation resources.

Most importantly, the people who live around Battlefield Park must be at the center of that vision. Revitalization should not simply make the neighborhood attractive to tourists. It should make the community better for the people who already call it home.

Battlefield Park is more than an old Civil War site. It is part of Jackson’s story. Properly restored and thoughtfully interpreted, it could become a place of education, reflection, recreation, community pride, and economic opportunity.

I will keep talking about Battlefield Park.

And I will keep saying, Milk Vicksburg. Bring those tourists to Jackson.

As the Reverend Jesse Jackson reminded us:

“Keep hope alive.”