The Duff Green mansion was built in 1850 by Duff and Mary Green to be their family home. During the siege of Vicksburg in 1863, the home served as a field hospital for BOTH sides -- Yankees on the top floor and Rebels on the bottom floor.
Today the home has been meticulously restored (with help and guidance from the US Department of the Interior) and serves as a bed and breakfast.
Blaster family lore was that Mama Blaster's 3rd great grandfather Pvt. Andrew Holmes of the 31st LA Infantry, CAS, died of disease in the hospital here on 15 Apr 1863, but later research has shown that he actually died in Field Hospital No. 2, which is NOT the Duff Green House. Field Hospital No. 2 was located between 2nd St North and 4th Street North along Main Street, near St. Mary's Catholic Church -- several blocks away from the Duff Green House.
From the National Park Service website: (
visit link)
"Well-proportioned scale, integrity of design, and the incorporation of appropriate decorative elements constitute the architectural significance of the Duff Green House. Constructed ca. 1856-1866 by the prosperous entrepreneur Duff Green, the house has served the City of Vicksburg for the past forty-six years as a Salvation Army facility
Duff Green was born in Virginia in 1824, moved to Vicksburg in 1847, and married Mary Lake in 1855. During the years prior to the Civil War, he amassed a considerable fortune as owner of Duff Green and Co., purchasing $90,000 in "goods, wares and merchandise" in 1859 (Assessment of Personal Property and Persons, FY 1859). Soon after his marriage, Green began construction of a residence on lots 125 and 126 at the corner of Locust and First East streets (Terry interview, June 26, 1978). The property was owned by his wife's parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. A. Lake (Deed Book W:136; CC:184). In 1860 W. A. Lake and his wife, "in consideration of the love and affection which they entertain for their daughter," conveyed lots 125 and 126 to Mary L. Green (Deed Book BB:670). Construction of the house was not completed until after the Civil War.
During the Civil War the residence was used as a Confederate hospital, with Union wounded strategically placed in the second floor to discourage enemy bombardment.
Duff Green, known locally as a "Yankee sympathizer" (Crowder interview, June 21, 1978; Terry interview, June 26, 1978), changed businesses after the war and assumed more prominent civic responsibilities. In 1866 he was a United States Marshal, on the Board of Trustees of Schools and School Lands, an officer of the City Bank of Vicksburg, and president of the Vicksburg Gas Company (1866 City Directory pp. 27, 82). Green was also involved with river shipping interests as principal owner of the steam boat Gray Eagle and superintendent of the Merchant Wharfboat Association in 1867 (Vicksburg Herald, April 30, 1880). Green died of gastritis in 1880.
In 1930 the Duff Green House was sold to the Young Men's Christian Association (Deed Book 186:142), and in 1932 it was purchased by the Salvation Army (Deed Book 188:16), which spent $3,000on remodeling the structure for use as a half-way house, learning and rehabilitation center, and chapel. The preservation and stabilization of the by-then deteriorating building was undertaken in 1974 by Major Sam Crowder of the Salvation Army and is continuing under the direction of Lieutenant John Queener.
Architecturally, the Duff Green House .exhibits the academic influence of the Greek and Renaissance Revival modes with the enrichment provided by picturesque Italianate detail. Frontispiece entrances and interior millwork have their origin in the Greek Revival, while the smooth wall surfaces "serving as a neutral background for windows, doorways, and (in many cases) balustraded balconies" (Whiffen,p. 75); symmetrical chimney placement; well-proportioned trabeated windows; and the classically inspired arched base of the north gallery are derived from the Renaissance Revival. Italianate detail expressed by the extended roof cornice and heavy brackets is juxtaposed with the astylar and symmetrical form of the building. Expressing the transition from the Greek Revival to more romantically inspired forms, the house also, in the use of cast iron on the north gallery,reflects the emerging popularity of industrial materials applied to American buildings after 1850."