NATCHEZ – Mayor Dan Gibson has officially proclaimed July 13 as “Julyteenth,” recognizing the date Union troops arrived in Natchez in 1863 and freedom came to thousands of enslaved people.
Gibson issued the proclamation Monday during a ceremony on the front steps of Natchez City Hall.
“This is a very special day,” Gibson said. “Many of our citizens may not understand the significance of July 13, but the day is sacred in the history of our city.”
The term “Julyteenth” was coined by local historian and cultural preservationist Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C.M. Boxley, coordinator of the Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society.
Union forces arrived in Natchez on July 13, 1863, nine days after the fall of Vicksburg. Troops landed at Natchez Under-the-Hill before marching up Silver Street and beginning their occupation of the city.
Their arrival prompted thousands of enslaved people to leave surrounding plantations and seek freedom behind Union lines.
The proclamation describes Julyteenth as one of the most significant dates in Natchez history and notes that freedom reached the city nearly two years before the events commemorated nationally on Juneteenth.
Juneteenth, observed annually on June 19, commemorates the 1865 arrival of Union troops in Galveston, Texas, where they enforced the Emancipation Proclamation and announced freedom to enslaved African Americans.
The Natchez proclamation also acknowledges the city’s prominent role in the slave-based economy. Natchez was home to the Forks of the Road, once the second-largest slave market in the Deep South.
Gibson said the Union occupation eventually transformed Natchez into a place of refuge and hope as formerly enslaved people claimed their freedom and began new lives.
The proclamation also recognizes the role of newly freed men who joined the United States Colored Troops and served in the fight to preserve the Union.
Gibson said Julyteenth honors the resilience and determination of those who survived slavery while ensuring their history is remembered by future generations.
“May ‘Julyteenth Day’ forever be a day where freedom and equality are embraced, and where love heals the divisions of yesterday, allowing us to embrace the opportunities of today and tomorrow,” Gibson said.
The proclamation followed a weekend of commemorative events that included a reenactment of a speech by Hiram Rhodes Revels, a workshop on history and racial reconciliation, a wreath-laying ceremony at Forks of the Road and a presentation titled “When Freedom Came to Natchez.”
The events were organized by the city of Natchez and several community and historical organizations.
