Imagine the open fields in front of you covered with tents and crowded with white-bearded men. In October 1917, as the United States entered World War I, this rolling landscape played host to thousands of Vicksburg veterans. Soldiers from both sides gathered in reunion for a memorial celebration. Funded by an appropriation of Congress, this National Peace Jubilee was for "survivors... who participated in the Battle of Vicksburg, July 1863."
...among our own old comrades and those in gray, who were then separated from us by forts and embankments, big guns, and little guns -a most delightful reunion...
Wisconsin Delegation to the 1917 National Peace Jubilee
Campaign for Camaraderie Over 8,000 veterans attended the 1917 National Peace Jubilee. The goal of this "operation" was to foster friendship and recognize what united them, they were once again citizens of a single nation.
[Photo captions]
Middle: Old soldiers shared stories and made new friends. Some even returned captured items.
Right: Veterans walked the battlefield to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice at Vicksburg.
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