Mississippi History Trivia

1. What tribe did Europeans NOT meet, when they first entered the area that would be Mississippi?

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Hopi

The Mound Builders had come and gone, leaving behind only earthworks and evidence of their large civilization. When Europeans came, they met the tribes above, plus the Biloxi, Yazoo and Pascagoula, but not the Hopi, who were further west.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Biloxi

Biloxi Bay was established in 1699 by Pierre le Moyne, sieur d'Iberville, and the colony came under the jurisdiction of the French Mississippi Company in 1718.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Vicksburg

The city of Vicksburg was on high ground and well fortified, but couldn't withstand a siege forever. After more than a month, the city surrendered July 4, 1863, giving Union troops unobstructed control of the Mississippi River. Meanwhile, Union soldiers defeat Confederates and turned them back south at the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. The two losses, though far from each other geographically, were a combined crushing blow to the Confederacy.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: It was ceded by the French in The Treaty of Paris at the end of the French and Indian War.

The Mississippi territory was part of Louisiana until the French surrendered it to the British in the Treaty of Paris of 1763. Britain received Canada and most of the French territory east of the Mississippi River at this time.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: B. B. King

How can you pick just one native Mississippian who made a mark on the world of music? I chose at random among the greats, because the state has produced so many. B. B. King (1925-2015) was born at Berclair, Mississippi, and though he traveled and lived many places, he is buried at the museum that bears his name in Indianola, Mississippi. Among countless honors, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, was ranked 6 on "Rolling Stone's" list of greatest guitarists of all time, and performed at the White House at age 86.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Natchez

English colonists had made Natchez, a Mississippi River port, a thriving community through tobacco and indigo production, so it was a common sense choice for the Territory's capital. Interestingly, Natchez was captured by Spanish troops in 1779 and remained under Spanish control until the Pinckney Treaty of 1795.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Columbus

Dozens of places claim to be where the first Decoration Day took place, the holiday which became modern Memorial Day. Some of the claims are stronger than others. Women in Columbus, Mississipi, which had been full of hospitals during the war, gathered in 1866 to decorate both Union and Confederate graves. Judge F. M. Finch, a northerner who happened to witness the ceremony, wrote a poem about it for the "Atlantic Monthly", and local historians point out that that spread information on the celebration far outside the local area.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: The Natchez Trace

The Natchez Trace extended from Natchez to Nashville and was instrumental to the growth of Mississippi's population. The trail has become a paved highway and exists as a National Park with several historically significant sites along the way. Many legends exist of ghost sightings, the spirits of travelers murdered by highwaymen lying in ambush.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Tupelo

The main tornado has been estimated to be an F5. The winds destroyed 200 homes in 48 city blocks, with a death toll of 233, which might actually be higher due to poor record-keeping in black neighborhoods, and of course many more people were injured. Elvis Presley had been born there the year before.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: 1817

When Mississippi achieved statehood, it did so without the eastern half of its original territory. This territory became the Alabama Territory. Thus, the state would lose some important cities like Mobile and Birmingham.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Eudora Welty

Eudora Welty, born April 13, 1909 in Jackson, Mississippi, lived there all her life and died there July 23, 2001. Her home has been made into a museum. Aside from her writing, she has been recognized for her talent as a photographer also.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: John Pemberton

Lieutenant General John Clifford Pemberton surrendered Vicksburg to Union forces on July 4, 1863. This Confederate loss coupled with its loss at Gettysburg was a tremendous blow to the South's morale. Not until the 1980's would the city of Vicksburg celebrate Independence Day. Interestingly, Pemberton was born and buried in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Another interesting fact: the President of the Confederacy--Jefferson Davis--was a native Mississippian.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Two cotton stalks

The coat of arms includes an eagle, a shield, banners with the word Mississippi and the state motto, and also "two branches of the cotton stalk," according to the original 1894 description. The Magnolia is the state flower and tree, but doesn't fit with the hint in the question, about making the state rich. Mississippi flourished economically when cotton was king. The state motto on the banner is "Virtute et Armis," Latin for "By valor and arms."

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Ross R. Barnett

This desegregation issue led to a conflict between Mississippi and the U.S. government. Two individuals were killed in a riot, and federal troops had to be sent. The federal Department of Justice was forced to take legal action against Barnett and other state officials. Many more acts of violence followed: churches and homes were burned and bombed, an official of the NAACP Medgar Evers was shot and killed in 1963, and three civil rights workers were murdered in 1964.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Pushmataha (1760s-1824) was also chief of one of the three branches of the Choctaws. He gained his brevet rank under General Jackson in the War of 1812, but in peacetime he was known as a skillful negotiator, and faced off against Jackson on the question of land treaties. He died in Washington, D.C. where he was buried with military honors in the Congressional Cemetery. He was on another trip to take part in yet more negotiations, when he fell ill.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Robert G. Clark

Clark has served nine consecutive terms, and is currently the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Mississippi House of Representatives. Melanie Neilson's "Even Mississippi" records this man's campaign for his first election; it is an excellent book and through Neilson's candid narrative of her own struggles as a white female growing up in Mississippi gives hope that racism can be eradicated.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Hurricane Camille

While Hurricane Andrew (1992) destroyed more property and Hurricane Katrina (2005) caused more fatalities, Hurricane Camille remains the strongest storm ever recorded to have hit the United States mainland. Camille was a category 5 storm with winds measured up to 190 mph, with over 220 mph gusts; the storm surge was over 25 feet. Sections of the Mississippi coast were obliterated and simply vanished.

From Quiz Bits and Pieces of Mississippi History

Answer: Beauvoir

Beauvoir has been hammered by hurricanes, but still stands after much repairwork, and is open to the public as a museum and presidential library. It was built in 1850. Davis lived there from 1879 until his death ten years later, though his wife preferred city living and moved to New York City after her husband died.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Vicksburg

Nowhere in the world had Coca-Cola been bottled until Joseph Biedenharn tried it in Vicksburg, Mississippi. A museum exists on Washington Street today where one can learn Coke's history and see the original equipment used for this first bottling experiment.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: William Faulkner

The author of such novels as "As I Lay Dying," "The Sound and the Fury," "Absalom, Absalom!" "Go Down, Moses," "A Fable," and "Light in August" lived in Oxford, Mississippi, most of his life. In fact, the antebellum home he restored--Rowan Oak--is available for touring. Faulkner was at one time invited by the President of the United States to dinner at the White House; Faulkner refused claiming: "That's too far to go to eat dinner with a complete stranger." (By the way, all the other writers listed as potential answers were born in Mississippi as well.)

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Jim Henson & Henson

Jim Henson was born in King's Daughters Hospital in Greenville, Mississippi, but grew up in Leland, just outside of Greenville. He initially was interested in being a cartoonist, but after answering an ad in a local paper that read "Puppeteer Wanted for Children's Television Program," his life went in another direction. Soon the Muppets would be born! The frogs he played with in nearby creeks as a child were his inspiration for Kermit, a name inspired by one of Henson's childhood friends.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Elvis Presley & Elvis & Presley & the King

The King of Rock 'n' Roll was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. The two-room house he lived in as a small child is still available for touring. His twin brother Jessie was stillborn, leaving Elvis Aron Presley to grow up an only child. His middle name is spelled with one "r" because of an error on his birth certificate; he decided to leave it spelled as it was.

From Quiz Mississippi History 101

Answer: Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr.

Kirk Fordice, born in Memphis, Tennessee, served two terms as governor of Mississippi from 1992 to 2000. When he was elected governor, Mississippi had been "deprived" of Republican leadership for 116 years. Interestingly, at the end of his second term, Mississippi voters filled the vacancy with a Democrat, Ronnie Musgrove. Of course, Musgrove, after serving one four-year term, was ousted by Republican Haley Barbour. Fordice was a diehard conservative and a very controversial one at that. He wore a tie with a Confederate flag on it while voicing his opposition to funding for minority owned firms. He also threatened a local news reporter on live television with "I'm gonna kick your @$$!"

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