Stephen D. Lee Home & Museum

09/02/2026

On August 22, this wonderful group of SCV members arrived on motorcycles and toured the Lee Home...Captain Smiley (in the top hat) gave a donation of $200 from his camp for the museum and challenges other camps to match it! Thank you!

08/18/2026

From an address written by General Stephen Dill Lee shortly before his death in 1908 --

"Nevertheless it has not seemed the whole truth to me that the Confederate soldier went into battle to vindicate a constitutional argument. He went to war because he loved his people, because his country was invaded, because his heart was throbbing for his hearthstone. Here was the land which gave him birth; here was his childhood's home; here were the graves of his dead; here was the church spire where he had learned it was not all of life to live nor all of death to die. No hostile foot should ever tread this consecrated ground except over his dead body. It was the prospect of invasion that made the men of the border States with bleeding hearts go and cast their lot with the Confederacy. He who could have expected a Lee to do battle against Virginia or a Hampton to draw his sword against South Carolina has never learned the language of the human heart. Nothing but the most devoted love of country could ever have sustained the Confederate soldier in his unequal and terrible struggle. It was not necessary to find a reward for the Confederate soldier in unexpected good results of the great conflict. The reward of noble actions lies in the capacity to do them. The Confederate soldier who fought with unflinching courage had the reward of being a brave man. He who loved his country had the reward of being a true patriot. He who faced the cannon's mouth for those he loved dearer than life had the reward of being a hero. He who was faithful unto death had the reward of a stainless honor. What other course could a Southerner have taken?"

07/27/2026

07/15/2026

07/04/2026

Thomas Garton Blewett was born on the 4th of July 1789 in Rockingham County, North Carolina. He moved his family to Columbus, Mississippi in 1832 and in 1844 began building his home, now known as the Lee Home. He was known as a kind and generous man, using his wealth to improve his church, the education of both men and women, and the town in general.
He was remembered by his granddaughter, Mrs. Mary Blewett Carothers, daughter of Allen Blewett and Mary Means, in the following written in the 1950s:
"He loved to work with wood, had a very expensive work bench and tools, made us hobby horses, beautifully made and painted, and wagons and chairs. He never gave just one present at Christmas, always three or more, and on his birthday, July 4th, instead of receiving presents, he gave each child and grandchild a present."
(His granddaughter, Regina Lily Harrison, was the wife of Stephen D. Lee.)
Photograph of T.G. Blewett and his wife, Regina DeGraffenreid, by G S Cook, Columbus Miss., April 1848, original in Lee Home Museum.

07/01/2026

Have a safe and happy 4th of July weekend!

06/29/2026

The South dug in and held Vicksburg for 47 days, May 22-July 4, 1863, before being forced to surrender to an overwhelming enemy due to starvation. The 43rd MS. Inf. played an active part in the defense of the 3rd Louisiana Redan under Hebert's brigade.