1. On May 15, 1864, Confederate General Stephen D. Lee led an unsuccessful attack against the Union troops at the Battle of New Market Heights in Virginia, resulting in a significant loss for the South.

2. Mississippi's first female senator, Hattie Caraway, was born on May 15, 1878. Caraway was appointed to fill her late husband's term in the U.S. Senate in 1931 and went on to win re-election twice, making her the first woman elected to the Senate.

3. May 15, 1963, marked the day that civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated outside of his home in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers had been working to integrate schools and voting rights for Black citizens in the state.

4. May 15, 1912, saw the birth of former Mississippi Governor William Winter. Winter is known for his advocacy of education and was instrumental in the creation of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

5. In 1953, the first car ferry service across the Mississippi River began operating between Natchez, Mississippi, and Vidalia, Louisiana. The ferry, named the Vidalia-Natchez Bridge, was in operation until 1998 when a new bridge was constructed.