by Caroline Abide, Contributing Writer
GULFPORT (GG) — To kick off the United States Semiquincentennial – also known as America’s 250th anniversary – the Gulfport Museum of History is currently showing the American Revolution Experience, a traveling exhibit funded by the Daughters of the American Revolution in partnership with the American Battlefield Protection Program. Tucked away in the historic Union Station Depot downtown, the museum has displayed the exhibit in what was once the main waiting room of the train station.
The original tile of the station has been maintained and a long bench cutting across the center of the room evokes its previous function. As for the exhibit, while general context about the war was provided for those of us who haven’t thought much about the Revolutionary War since eleventh grade history class, the focus was on individual, often ordinary, people and the motivations behind their wartime actions.
Given the time that has passed since our country’s origin, it’s easy to take for granted that the United States won its battle for independence. In reality, the American bid for sovereignty seemed unlikely to be successful against the imperial power of England.
While there were plenty of Patriots staunchly against British rule, some people chose whichever side served their own interests or flip-flopped between the two camps as progressive battles shaped the war’s uncertain outcome. Support for the Patriot cause was bolstered by international support, as France and Spain seized on the opportunity to weaken Great Britain.
As I perused the short biographies of players famous and unknown on one of the exhibit’s tablets, a freight train came barreling along, seeming to cause the whole building to vibrate.
The building’s past life came alive for me then, and I got some guidance from one of the museum’s friendly volunteers, David Hall, who pointed out the main features of the old station – the double sided ticket booth which led to a second waiting room for Black passengers is an inevitable relic of segregation, but the third waiting room, for unescorted ladies, got an incredulous chuckle out of me, an unescorted lady.
Toward the back of the station were two rooms that would have been the shipping and receiving port. “These big barn doors would have opened up directly onto the train platform, and they would haul cotton through here,” Hall told me.
Viewing the American Revolution Experience in this setting emphasized the second main theme of the exhibit, historical site preservation.
An interactive map told the story of the war through its battlefields and heritage sites, offering a modern-day status update of what commemoration, if any, can be found there today. In particular, I could feel the finger-wagging in the write-up on Brandywine Battlefield in Pennsylvania, which is described as being “overrun by suburban residential developments.”
A nearby panel made the intentions behind the exhibit more plain: “When you walk the grounds on which historical events occurred, you gain a greater understanding of the past and its impact on our lives today. Help protect these precious sites.”
Perhaps it can be difficult to relate to the Revolutionary War from our vantage point in coastal Mississippi.
The nearest historical sites mentioned were the decidedly lesser known battles in Pensacola and Baton Rouge, which were really fought by the Spaniards in their conquest of West Florida. However, the ideals of liberty and self-governance still reverberate today in the original thirteen colonies and beyond.
In 250 years, our nation has seen a great deal of change. Once busy train stations now sit empty. Founding fathers seem as distant as figures in ancient myth. Sitting with the past on a long waiting room bench, I’m reckoning with the implications of this humanizing look on our nation’s beginnings. Are we currently upholding the ideals that fueled the Revolution? What would I be willing to sacrifice for freedom? Revisiting our collective history triggers these and many other questions pertaining to the future.
When asked if any other traveling exhibits were planned for the museum in 2026, Hall stated that the Gulfport Historical Society was in the process of applying for grants that would possibly lead to subsequent exhibits.
The American Revolution Experience is currently running at the Gulfport Museum of History through January 24th. The museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 9am – 3pm or by appointment.
