Winds of War, Winds of Fate: a Brief History of Mississippi Antebellum Hurricanes

Today marks the 10^th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.  Forgive me as I delineate from the focus of this blog.  As a survivor, my thoughts have been on that particular event in my life.   Katrina was a historical event indeed, one that I will never forget.  But speaking of history, we don’t tend to think about weather that much.  But, of course, our ancestors had to deal with the elements as we do.  And that includes hurricanes here on the Coast.   Closer to our own history, I can remember my daddy telling me about a time when he was a boy and asking his grandpa about a big pile of dirt.  “Oh, a bad storm caused that,” was the reply with a shrug.  He was referring to the hurricane of 1947, a “bad storm” indeed that had hit several years prior.  

Aftermath of the 1947 hurricane
Mississippi Gulf Coast
Hancock County Historical Society

Ship Island

Named by French explorers in 1699, Ship Island is located approximately 12 miles off the Mississippi Gulf Coast and lies about equidistant between Mobile and New Orleans.  The barrier island was initially used as a port of entry by colonists and has been called the “Plymouth Rock” of the Gulf Coast. 

AAR From the Gardendale and Jasper, Alabama Talks

Back in March, I gave two talks in Alabama (click HERE for a recap) where I met a couple of nice folks who invited me to speak for their respective organizations, which I did so this past weekend.  

Boscobel AAR

I consider myself semi-retired from reenacting.  The only event I generally attend a year is Muskets

Photo by Tom George Davison

and Memories in Boscobel, Wisconsin held annually the first weekend in August.   I still can't get over how cool Wisconsin is this time of year.  While my friends and family are drinking the air in Mississippi, I'm typically freezing under a wool blanket.  I campaign, which means I only bring what I can carry on my person and sleep under the stars with no tent.  In that regard, you get a sense as to what the soldiers experienced.  I am in the infantry and, as a lifelong athlete, enjoy the physical challenge of it.  You definitely get a good workout!

Mark is the overall Confederate commander at this event and helps design the battle scenarios, which he typically researches months in advance.  He, and a lot of others, put a lot of time and effort into it, which results in a good event that typically draws large crowds.  The small town embraces it as well.


This year, the event organizers wanted to honor Alonzo Cushing who was recently awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg.  He had local ties, having been born in Delafield, Wisconsin.  (Boscobel itself had a Medal of Honor winner who served with a woman soldier.  Click HERE to read about them.)