Confederate Memorial Day

Most every American knows about Memorial Day, also known as Decoration Day. This is the holiday on the last Monday in May, when the graves of Veterans are “decorated” with flags, flowers and wreathes. There is a similar observance that takes place on varied dates and is only celebrated in the southern states. This little known observance is said to preceed the one that all Americans observe. According to Wikipedia in the spring of 1866 the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia, passed a resolution to set aside one day annually to memorialize the Confederate war dead. Mary Ann Williams, the association’s secretary, was chosen to pen a letter inviting women from ladies groups in every former Confederate state to join in this special occasion.

The invitation was written in March 1866 and sent to all of the principal cities in the former Confederate states. These included Atlanta, Macon, Montgomery, Memphis, Richmond, St. Louis, Alexandria, Columbia, and New Orleans. Small towns like Staunton Virginia, Anderson South Carolina, and Wilmington North Carolina were also included. April 26 was selected as the date for the holiday by Elizabeth Rutherford Ellis. This day was the first anniversary of the surrender of Confederate General Johnston to Union Major General Sherman at Bennett Place. Many of those who lived within the Confederacy, considered the date of April 26 1865 as the official end of the Civil War.

The book, The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America, by Bellware and Gardiner suggests that the national Memorial Day holiday actually came from the observance of the Confederate celebration. During the first observance in 1886, the graves of Union soldiers were also decorated in Macon, Georgia and Columbus, Ohio. The day for honoring the "rebels” was even initially referred to as Memorial Day on May 8th by The Baltimore Sun in that same year.The name "Confederate Memorial Day" was not used until two years later in 1868 after the the Northern (national) observance began.

The first official celebration of Confederate Decoration Day as a public holiday was after a proclamation by the state legislature of Georgia. By 1916, things had become confusing because the event was being celebrated on various dates in different months. Ten states were celebrating on June 3rd, the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Other states chose late April dates, or May 10, which was the date when Davis was captured. In Alabama, Confederate Memorial Day is a statutory holiday on the fourth Monday in April. In Georgia, the fourth Monday in April was formerly celebrated as Confederate Memorial Day, but in 2016, this changed in response to the Charleston church shooting, where 9 African Americans were shot to death.

Both Robert E. Lee's Birthday and Confederate Memorial Day were removed from the Georgia state calendar and the statutory holidays were then designated as simply "state holidays". Confederate Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday in April in Mississippi. In Texas it is called Confederate Heroes Day and held each year on January 19. In Tennessee, Confederate Decoration Day takes place on June 3rd which is Jefferson Davis birthday. In South Carolina it is a legal holiday, celebrated on May 10. In Virginia , where I live I had never heard of Confederate Memorial Day and do not think it is celebrated here. Confederate Generals Robert E Lee and Andrew Jackson are honored on January 15th.

The 2020 celebrations for Confederate Memorial Day will more than likely be curtailed because of the coronavirus. There is much controversy over this observance because the southern states were in favor of keeping African Americans in slavery. There is also the issue of racists using the Confederate flag when promoting hate. In the midst of these issues are Americans who simply desire to honor their ancestors who in their opinion fought for their personal rights without interference by the United States Government. Some who continue to observe this holiday see it as simply honoring history. Others believe it is about an attitude like Granny Clampet from The Beverly Hillbillies who often said, "The South shall rise again." Some US citizens say the South lost, there is nothing to honor, and that this offends black Americans. This holiday, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.