With the same stubbornness and determination in his face as the animal he’s freeing, the shirtless black soldier gazes into the long, tired face of the mule he just uncollared.

They have too much in common. They are free to face the world, but war and countless struggles have left them dirty, gaunt and tired. Through their weariness, there’s a sense of freedom that transcends and seems to radiate from every inch of the small bonze sculpture in the visitors center of Vicksburg National Military Park. The statue, entitled Mugwump, is part of artist J. Kim Sessums’ private collection on loan the park for Black History Month, ranger Dr. David Slay said. Sessums is the Brookhaven artist who designed the African American Monument at the park.

The month-long Sessums exhibit also includes several realistic portraits of U.S. Colored Troops from the Civil War era, the original plaster casts of the faces of the men in the monument and several weathered, battle-weary reinterpretations of those same faces.

“It’s quite a coups for us to have that,” Slay said. “It’s really quite an impressive display of art.”

Most of the art has not been on public display before, Slay said, and he first saw the Mugwump statue in Sessums’ living room.