Short answers, pulled from the story.
The name Mississippi comes from the French rendering of the Anishinaabe name Misi-ziibi, which translates to Great River. This name was inherited from indigenous peoples who had lived along its banks for thousands of years before the first European explorers arrived in the 16th century.
The Mississippi River suddenly changed course near the settlement of Reverie, Tennessee, in March 1876. This event left a small part of Tipton County, Tennessee, attached to Arkansas and separated from the rest of Tennessee by the new river channel.
The New Orleans was the first steamboat to travel the full length of the Lower Mississippi River from the Ohio River to New Orleans in December 1811. Its maiden voyage occurred during the series of New Madrid earthquakes in 1811 and 1812.
The Union victory ended the Siege of Vicksburg on the 4th of July 1863. This event was pivotal to the Union's final victory of the Civil War and completed control of the lower Mississippi River.
The United States Army Corps of Engineers constructed saltwater sills or underwater levees to contain salt water in 1988, 1999, 2012, and 2022. These structures consist of a large mound of sand spanning the width of the river 55 feet below the surface.