Balfour House

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Last Updated: Wednesday, 06 August 2014 13:21

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Balfour House (1835). Corner of Cherry and Crawford. Home of famous Vicksburg siege diarist Emma Balfour. Was the setting for one of the most dramatic moments in Vicksburg history when the Balfours hosted a Christmas Eve ball in 1862 for Confederate officers and their ladies. A little past midnight a courier interrupted the festivities to deliver a message to Gen. M. L. Smith.

The General. read the note and then announced, "This ball is at an end. The enemy are coming down the river." What followed was the Battle of Chickasaw Bayou. Shell damage to the Balfour is visible inside and out.

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Corner of Cherry and Crawford Streets
Vicksburg, MS 39183

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