Fort Rosalie was established by the French in 1716 along the bluffs of the Mississippi River in today's historic town of Natchez. Fort Rosalie, surrounded by a wooden palisade, not only served for the settlement's defense, but stood as the governmental center. An uneasy coexistence of pro-French and pro-English factions of the Natchez Indian tribe broke into full scale war in 1729. Known as the Natchez War, 229 French colonists were killed, including women and children. Counter-attacks by the French lead to a Natchez surrender, scattering the tribe forever. A memorial placard was placed on the Rosalie Mansion grounds where a tobacco wharehouse once stood, the site of the Natchez massacre. British occupation followed the French, naming the outpost Fort Panmure. Twenty years later, in 1783, the power shifted again, falling under the control of the Spanish crown. It was during this period that Natchez began to take shape with the construction of roads and beautiful mansions.
   Here along the Natchez bluff the Rosalie Mansion, a magnificent example of Federal style architecture, represents the height of Southern prosperity and the era of King Cotton. Occupied by Union troops from Vicksburg, Natchez was held by the North from 1863 to the end of the Civil War. Union General Walter Gresham and local commander General Thomas Ransom were headquartered at Rosalie Mansion, insuring most of the buildings in the city remained unscathed. Today, Natchez is home to more surviving antebellum mansions than any other city in the South. Over two dozen historic homes, such as Melrose, Stanton Hall, Longwood and Dunleith, are open for tours and serve as excellent examples of several architectural styles. These guided tours offer a romantic return to Mississippi's plantation era of yesteryear.

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