Blue & Gray Education Society The Guns at Raymond
Originally published July-August 2026 · pp. 64–65
The Guns at Raymond Robert Jenkins, Executive Director, Blue and Gray Education Society
W Blue and Gray Education Society, Inc. Every Battlefield has a Story to Tell
Founded in 1994, Blue and Gray Education (BGES), was the vision of retired Air Force Major Leonard (Len) Riedel, a graduate of Virginia Military Institute and a 25-year veteran of our armed forces. Len wanted to provide access to the most-knowledgeable historians, military leaders, park rangers, professors, and scholars to history enthusiasts, and to bring our Nation’s rich history into focus and come alive to the wider audience in America’s society. As a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, membership and donations are 100% tax free. Today, after over 30 years, BGES continues to lead both on the battlefield and off with over 20 annual Field University studies, sponsoring interpretive historic markers at parks and sites across the country, and telling the story with balance, accuracy, and truth. As the Executive Director of Blue and Gray Education Society, I want to invite you to join us as we lead in the preservation of our Nation’s rich and diverse history by promoting and presenting Staff Ride level Field Studies with leading scholars and historians, providing resources to support educators, and supporting national, state, and local battlefields and historic sites with interpretive markers and other visual artifacts and displays. We are dedicated to the objective study of the origins and impact of the American Civil War and related events. By “Leading From the Front,” we invite you to join America’s premier results-oriented Civil War education society. We depend on our members’ generosity to support our mission. BGES is a 501(c)(3) organization; therefore, membership and donations are 100% tax-deductible. To join visit: https://blueandgrayeducation.org/membership.
hen historian Parker Hills and The Friends of Raymond (Mississippi) had a vision to acquire, place, and interpret 25 cannon at the Raymond, Mississippi, battlefield, they faced a daunting task. Wanting to be completely historically accurate with the type and caliber of the guns that once donned the fields in central Mississippi in the pivotal battle that turned the momentum in favor of Union Major General U.S. Grant and his force during the Vicksburg Campaign—and the battle that renowned historian the late Ed Bearss believed was the turning point of the war—General Hills and his group needed help to fulfill their mission. General Parker Hills, a retired brigadier general of the Mississippi Army National Guard and expert on the Civil War in Mississippi, and a leading historian and tour guide for Blue and Gray Education Society (BGES), approached BGES and former Executive Director Len Reidel with his dream. Len and BGES quickly moved into action as the two groups worked together to raise the funds and acquire the correct types of cannon for the site. Under the leadership of General Hills, The Friends of Raymond have preserved a significant portion of the 1863 battlefield and, with key sites now owned or secured with preservation easements, have embarked on a multi-year project to place some 25 pieces of replica artillery for display on the site. Their goal was to be the first significant battlefield in the country to have one restored cannon for every actual cannon present during the May 12, 1863, battle, at its exact location. The hook? To create identical pieces to match the types that were there. The key to success was to acquire carriages that had been removed from the NPS inventory at Vicksburg—
I look forward to seeing you on the battlefield, Bob Robert D. Jenkins, Sr. Executive Director, Blue and Gray Education Society, Inc.
BGES members Ann and Bart Allen posing alongside the Texas Brigade cannon that they sponsored.
the cast-iron carriages received had been broken into pieces by years of wear and abuse from vandalism and exposure when they were acquired, and they were then turned over to an iron worker to repair them. Reproduction barrels were locally sourced and constructed to fit each carriage. BGES played a significant role, with members sponsoring most of the guns, which now proudly bear the names of BGES sponsors and the BGES logo. More than 100 BGES members donated nearly $27,000 between 2011 and 2012 to complete this project. With BGES support, 17 of the 25 guns needed were sponsored and paid for, with 13 of the cannon paid outright by BGES and another four paid for by individual members of BGES. BGES is the largest single donor to the Friends of Raymond and was recognized on the park sponsor’s monument as a “Raymond General.” A dedication ceremony was held, and the Union artillery line was frequently photographed for national articles, magazines, and blogs, and was featured in BGES’s nationally acclaimed and sponsored by National Geographic book, The Civil War, A Traveler’s Guide (2016).
Guns on the Raymond Battlefield.
Retired Brigadier General Parker Hills giving a Field Study at Raymond, Mississippi. (Photo courtesy Parker Hills)
BGES member Parker Hills kicks off the field dedication at Raymond, Miss.
12-pounder Whitworth rifle on the Raymond Battlefield.
12-pounder Napoleon on the Raymond Battlefield.
Photographs from the Original Article
Captions and credits appear in the article text as originally printed.