The American Revolution in the Gulf South

The history of the American Revolution along the Gulf South is seldom told. Although most of the Europeans who called the region were sympathetic to the British — or at least hoped to remain neutral — the conflict soon engulfed the territory of what would, in time, become Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. This presentation examines how the American Revolution transformed the Gulf South. It tells the story of how the Americans, British and Spanish vied for control of the Mississippi River and Gulf seaports, and how the Choctaws and Chickasaws struggled to preserve their homelands by courting the rival powers. It describes James Willing’s disastrous raid on Natchez, the Choctaw occupation of Natchez and the campaign launched by Spanish Bernardo de Galvez, who conquered Natchez and Pensacola and drove the British from the region. The lecture also discusses the consequences of the Revolution for the people of the Gulf Coast In the aftermath of the war, the Spanish and the Americans vied to control Natchez and the territory around present-day Vicksburg, while native confederacies like the Choctaw and Chickasaw grappled with the rising power of the United States.

Speakers Expertise:

Max Grivno joined the history faculty of the University of Southern Mississippi in 2007 after completing his doctorate at the University of Maryland. Dr. Grivno’s first book, Gleanings of Freedom: Free Labor and Slavery along the Mason-Dixon Line, 1790-1860, was published in 2011 as part of the University of Illinois Press’s series The Working Class in American History. Grivno is currently writing From Bondage to Freedom: Slavery in Mississippi, 1690-1865. Dr. Grivno’s teaching interests include the Old South, slavery, labor history and Mississippi history.