William Duffner

2013.52.1 – William Duffner, a Union soldier in the 24th Indiana Infantry, made this double-rocker chair, commemorating the Battle of Port Gibson, for his Confederate soldier friend, A.K. “Kell” Shaifer Jr., who lived in Port Gibson, Mississippi. The two men developed a friendship through correspondence after the Civil War. This rocking chair was handed down through several generations of the Shaifer family and was donated by Libby Shaifer Hollingsworth. It is displayed in the Fast Track of the Museum of Mississippi History. Visitors who only have a limited amount of time to visit the museum are able to walk through the Fast Track to get a quick overview of Mississippi History and see a selection of important artifacts such as this chair.