History of Natchez

Prior to 1845 and the founding of the Natchez Institute, the city's elite were the few who could pay privately for formal education. Although many of the parents had not had much schooling, they were anxious to provide their children with a prestigious education. Schools opened in the city as early as 1801, but many of the wealthiest families relied on private tutors or out-of-state institutions. The city founded the Natchez Institute to offer free education to the rest of the white residents of the city. Although children from a variety of economic backgrounds could obtain an education, class differences persisted among students, particularly in terms of school choice and social ties. Although it was considered illegal, slave children were often taught the alphabet and reading the Bible by their white playmates in private houses.

American Civil War (1861–1865)

During the Civil War, Natchez remained largely undamaged. The city surrendered to Flag-Officer David G. Farragut after the fall of New Orleans in May 1862. Two civilians, an elderly man and an eight-year-old girl named Rosalie Beekman, were killed when a Union ironclad shelled the town from the river. The man died of a heart attack and Rosalie was killed by a shell fragment. Union troops under Ulysses S. Grant occupied Natchez in 1863; Grant set up his temporary headquarters in the Natchez mansion Rosalie.

Some Natchez residents remained defiant of the Federal authorities. In 1864, William Henry Elder, the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Natchez, refused to obey a federal order to compel his parishioners to pray for the President of the United States. The federals arrested Elder, jailed him briefly, and banished him across the river to Confederate-held Vidalia. Elder was eventually