Devil's Punchbowl (Natchez, Mississippi): Difference between revisions

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Changing short description from "Refugee camp in Natchez, Mississippi, USA, to freed slaves" to "American Civil War refugee camp"
 
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{{other uses|Devil's Punch Bowl (disambiguation)}}
{{other uses|Devil's Punch Bowl (disambiguation)}}
{{Short description|Refugee camp in Natchez, Mississippi, USA, to freed slaves}}
{{Short description|American Civil War refugee camp}}
The '''Devil's Punchbowl''' was a refugee camp created in [[Natchez, Mississippi]] during the [[American Civil War]] to provide temporary housing and assistance to the freed slaves.
The '''Devil's Punchbowl''' was a refugee camp created in [[Natchez, Mississippi]] during the [[American Civil War]] to provide temporary housing and assistance to the freed slaves.



Latest revision as of 12:21, 29 April 2024

The Devil's Punchbowl was a refugee camp created in Natchez, Mississippi during the American Civil War to provide temporary housing and assistance to the freed slaves.

Description[edit]

In order to house the large numbers of formerly-enslaved African Americans, the Union Army created a refugee camp for them at a location known as the Devil's Punchbowl, a natural pit surrounded by bluffs. Many of the formerly enslaved there died of starvation, smallpox, and other diseases.[1] It has been suggested by some that over 20,000 formerly enslaved people died here in one year.[2][3] However, the scale of the tragedy has been disputed by multiple historians, with history professor Jim Wiggins arguing the 20,000 estimate is baseless and inflated tenfold,[4] and author and activist Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley referring to the story as "concocted Confederate propaganda" aiming to cast the Union Army in a negative light.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The Devil's Punchbowl (Mississippi), a story".
  2. ^ Taite, Tionna (April 11, 2022). "The Devil's Punchbowl". Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ^ Bernish, Claire (March 4, 2017). "The Devil's Punchbowl". Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  4. ^ Francis, Marquise (2023-06-17). "The Devil's Punchbowl: Debunking the social media myth of a Civil War massacre". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  5. ^ Griffey, Jan (2022-06-17). "Devil's Punchbowl: 'Concocted Confederate propaganda,' Boxley says". The Natchez Democrat. Retrieved 2023-06-18.