Mile 392.0 - LBD Rodney (Ghost Town)
392 LBD Rodney (Ghost Town)
Rodney has operated under the flags of five different nations. Originally settled by the French in January 1763 and named Petit Gouffre, meaning Little Gulf, it was later taken by Great Britain as a result of the French and Indian War. Spain would later control this area after taking West Florida from the British in 1781. Spain would hold the site until selling it to Thomas Calvit in 1798. The city was later renamed Rodney in 1828 in honor of Judge Thomas Rodney. Rodney was officially founded in 1828, and in the 19th century, it was only three votes away from becoming the capital of the Mississippi Territory. In the never-ending rotating water wheel of fame and fortune, its population declined to nearly zero after the Mississippi River changed course in 1936.
Today a small number of inhabitants remain but the area is considered a ghost town, and reliable data is hard to find as the town is not listed as a separate entity by the census bureau.
After the fall of Vicksburg, the Union Navy was in charge of the Mississippi River. The gunboat Rattler was stationed in front of Rodney to ensure the federal control of this important town, and aware that the area was not completely secure, the admiral left strict orders that no sailor was to leave the ship. But on Sunday September 12, 1863, 22 sailors, contrary to these orders, a lieutenant, and a captain left the ship dressed in their best uniforms, and quietly seated themselves amongst the Presbyterian Church congregation. As the second hymn was being sung, a Lt. Allen of the Confederate Cavalry walked up the aisle to the pulpit. Apologizing to the Reverend Baker, he turned and announced that his men had surrounded the building and demanded the Yankee sailors surrender. One of the Yankee sailors jumped behind a door and took a shot at Lt. Allen. A general melee broke out, and most of the citizens dove under their pews for safety and reputedly one Yankee sailor hid in the undergarments of his local southern girlfriend. One older lady, however, would not run. She stood up in her pew and shouted Glory to God! A skeleton crew had remained on board the Rattler, and, when they
heard the commotion, began firing their guns at the church. The church and four homes were hit. The firing ceased once word was sent that the Confederates threatened to execute the prisoners. It was on this day that a cannonball lodged itself in the front wall of the Presbyterian Church. The Confederate Army had taken 17 prisoners, including the lieutenant and captain. The crew of the Rattler became the laughingstock of the nation, for it was the first time in history a small squad of cavalry captured the crew of an ironclad gunboat. (Local history tells us that the cannonball that is imbedded very high up in the front of the Church was placed there many years later. The original one had fallen out. Photos of the church in the 1930s [the one on this site] show no cannonball in the front of the church) To eliminate all Confederate presence in Rodney, Union infantrymen landed in Rodney and plundered almost every house in town. Citizens of Rodney later formed Company D. 22nd Mississippi infantry to fight against the Union army. (Wikipedia)