Vicksburg Band Set For Veterans Day Concert

Residents in Vicksburg, Mississippi, will hear a live musical tribute to military service members on Saturday, November 7. The event is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. next to the Visitor Center at the Vicksburg National Military Park.

The Marion Military Institute Band from Marion, Alabama, will lead the performance. The group has operated since 1842 and focuses on preparing students for leadership and service roles. This specific concert is part of the local observance for Veterans Day, which marks the end of World War I.

The program includes a mix of patriotic and historical pieces. Tracks listed for the performance include The Battle Cry of Freedom and the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The band will also play Full Measure of Devotion and Tell My Father from The Civil War: An American Musical. Shenandoah and an Armed Forces Medley will round out the setlist.

Admission to the concert itself is free. However, the park charges its regular entry fee for access to the grounds. Organizers encourage attendees to bring lawn chairs for comfort during the performance in the historic setting.

The event serves as a public reminder of the armistice signed on November 11, 1918. That date is widely recognized as the end of the war to end all wars. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11, 1919, as the first official commemoration of Armistice Day to honor those who served in the military.

Brenda Wilson is the contact person for further information about the event. The Department of Veterans Affairs notes that the observance traces back to 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, formally ending World War I. Fighting had actually stopped seven months earlier, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918.