From the second-story portico of Rosalie (c.1820), visitors get a marvelous view of the Mississippi-that also appealed to invading Union general Walter Gresham when he arrived and commandeered the house as his personal residence for three years beginning in 1863. With Gresham's consent, the Wilson family, Rosalie's owners, protected their belongings during the Union occupation by locking everything safely away in the attic and burying two huge gilt mirrors (swathed heavily in cotton) in the backyard. Amazingly, the mirrors reflect Rosalie's glory as clearly today as they did in 1863.