Duff Green Mansion

Duff Green Mansion was constructed in 1856 for wealthy cotton factor Duff Green and his wife Mary. Designed in the Palladian and Greek Revival architectural styles, the 12,000-square-foot home featured 12-foot ceilings, wrought-iron balconies, ornate plaster moldings, and grand ballroom reception areas built to host lavish Southern galas and entertain Mississippi high society prior to the Civil War.

In May 1863, when Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant surrounded Vicksburg during the famous Civil War campaign, Duff Green offered his mansion to the Confederate command as a military hospital. To prevent Union gunboats on the Mississippi River and artillery batteries from bombarding the structure, yellow hospital flags were flown high from the roof. Surgeons treated hundreds of wounded soldiers inside the ballroom and parlor, performing emergency amputations under dire wartime conditions with limited anesthesia and medical supplies.

When Union forces captured the city in July 1863, the mansion continued serving as a Federal military hospital, treating wounded soldiers from both sides of the conflict. After the Civil War, the mansion served as a private residence, a home for aged women, and a local orphanage before being meticulously restored as a premier historic bed and breakfast and museum. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the home retains its 1850s grandeur, period furnishings, and architectural elegance.

The ghost folklore at Duff Green Mansion is deeply connected to its Civil War hospital era and the tragic lives of the Green family during the siege. One of the most famous entities is the ghost of a Confederate soldier who lost his leg during a field amputation in the ballroom. Guests staying in the lower-level guest suites frequently report seeing the spectral figure of a soldier sitting silently in a wooden rocking chair, staring into the fireplace with a sorrowful expression before vanishing into thin air when approached.

Another prominent ghost is believed to be Mary Green, who gave birth to a child in a nearby earthen cave during the heavy Union bombardment of Vicksburg. Guests and staff report seeing the apparition of a graceful woman in a 19th-century gown gliding down the central floating staircase or standing near the parlor doorway, welcoming visitors with a gentle smile before fading away into the wood paneling.

Local tradition also speaks of residual ghost nurses who continue their medical rounds long after midnight. Guests have awakened to find phantom figures in Civil War-era nursing attire standing silently at the foot of their beds, tucking in blankets or placing cool phantom hands on the foreheads of sleeping visitors, creating an atmosphere of quiet historical mystery that leaves an indelible impression on overnight travelers and dark tourism researchers.

Guests, innkeepers, and paranormal investigation teams featured on television programs like Ghost Hunters have documented compelling supernatural phenomena at Duff Green Mansion across recent decades. Original bloodstains from Civil War surgical amputations remain visible on the heart-pine floorboards of the ballroom and, according to local reports, occasionally darken or emit faint metallic iron scents during hot, humid summer days.

Visitors frequently report disembodied footsteps marching up the grand staircase, the distinct rustle of heavy petticoats in empty hallways, and disembodied groans echoing from the basement rooms where critical medical supplies and surgical tables were kept during the siege.

In addition, heavy doors lock and unlock on their own, chandelier crystals sway in sealed rooms without drafts, and electronic voice phenomena (EVPs) recorded in the ballroom include soft voices whispering military ranks, asking for water, and calling out medical commands late at night when the building is quiet. Guests also report feeling sudden atmospheric pressure drops and cold drafts when walking past the historic ballroom doors.

Duff Green Mansion is a magnificent three-story Palladian Greek Revival mansion built from handmade red brick produced by enslaved craftsmen in 1856. The home features classic wrought-iron galleries, a raised basement, monumental brick pillars, wide verandas, and towering high ceilings designed specifically for natural summer cooling in the Deep South.

The interior boasts a grand ballroom, elegant parlor, central hallway with an exquisite floating wooden staircase, and historic guest chambers furnished with authentic 19th-century antiques, canopy beds, marble fireplaces, and original period woodwork spanning over three spacious floors. The surrounding grounds include manicured landscaped gardens, brick courtyards, stone archways, historic outbuildings, and sweeping views of historic Vicksburg and the river bluffs.

Duff Green Mansion is situated at 1114 Adams Street in historic Vicksburg, Mississippi, within easy walking distance of the city's Civil War museums, Mississippi River bluffs, and historic downtown district. It operates as an active luxury bed and breakfast offering overnight guest accommodations in authentic 19th-century rooms.

Daily guided history, architecture, and ghost tours are available for non-overnight visitors by advance reservation. Guests can explore the grand ballroom, parlors, and historic grounds while learning about Vicksburg's Civil War history and restoration efforts. Parking is available directly on site, and reservations can be booked online or via phone for individual travelers, couples, and organized group tours exploring Mississippi's Civil War heritage.

Duff Green Mansion's haunted reputation stems from its well-documented historic role as a dual Civil War field hospital, visible floorboard bloodstains from wartime amputations, and constant guest reports of phantom Confederate soldiers, original owners, and Civil War nurses that attract dark tourism travelers, paranormal researchers, authors, television production crews, and Civil War history enthusiasts from across the nation seeking authentic antebellum history.