Memorial Day (also called Confederate Heroes Day in Texas) is a holiday observed in several Southern states since the end of the American Civil War to remember the estimated 258,000 Confederate soldiers and sailors who died fighting against the Union.[1] The holiday is observed widely, but unofficially, in most Southern states. It is observed in late April in many states to recall the surrender of the last major Confederate field army at Bennett Place
.jpg/440px-6th_FL_ANV_Pattern_(reproduction).jpg)
Bennett Place on April 26, 1865.[2]
Contents
1 Origins 2 Statutory holidays for state employees 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading
Origins[edit]
Confederate
Memorial Day
Memorial Day observance in front of the Monument to
Confederate Dead, Arlington National Cemetery, on June 8, 2014.
In the spring of 1866 the
Ladies Memorial Association
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 secretary, was directed to pen a letter inviting ladies
associations in every former Confederate state to join them in the
observance.[3] Their invitation was written in March 1866 and sent to
all of the principal cities in the former Confederacy, including
Atlanta,[4] Macon;[5] Montgomery; Memphis; Richmond; St. Louis;
Alexandria; Columbia;[6] and New Orleans, as well as smaller towns
like Staunton, Virginia;[7] Anderson, South Carolina;[8] and
Wilmington, North Carolina.[9] The actual date for the holiday was
selected by Elizabeth Rutherford Ellis.[10] She chose April 26, the
first anniversary of Confederate General Johnston's surrender to Union
Major General Sherman at Bennett Place. For many in the Confederacy,
that date in 1865 marked the end of the Civil War.[3]
In their book, The Genesis of the
Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Holiday in America,
Bellware and Gardiner determine that the national
Memorial Day
Memorial Day holiday
is a direct offshoot of the observance begun by the Ladies Memorial
Association of
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus, Georgia in 1866. In a few places, most
notably Columbus, Mississippi[11] and Macon, Georgia,[12] Union graves
were decorated during the first observance. The day was even referred
to as
Memorial Day
Memorial Day by The Baltimore Sun on May 8, 1866 after the
ladies organization that started it. The name Confederate Memorial Day
was not used until the Northern observance was initiated in 1868.
While initially cool to the idea of a Northern version of the holiday,
General
John A. Logan
John A. Logan was eventually won over as evidenced by his
General Order No. 11 of May 5, 1868 wherein he commanded the posts of
Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic to likewise strew flowers on the graves of
Union soldiers. The
Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic eventually adopted the
name
Memorial Day
Memorial Day at their national encampment in 1882.[13]
Many theories have been offered as to how Logan became aware of the
former Confederate tradition he imitated in 1868. In her
autobiography, his wife claims she told him about it after a trip to
Virginia
Virginia in the spring of that year.[14] His secretary and his
adjutant also claim they told him about it. John Murray of Waterloo,
New York, claims it was he who inspired Logan in 1868. Bellware and
Gardiner, however, offer proof that Logan was aware of the Southern
tributes long before any of them had a chance to mention it to him. In
a speech to veterans in Salem, Illinois, on July 4, 1866, Logan
referred to the various dates of observance adopted in the South for
the practice saying “…traitors in the South have their gatherings
day after day, to strew garlands of flowers upon the graves of Rebel
soldiers...”[15]
Statutory holidays for state employees[edit]
Confederate
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a statutory holiday in
Alabama
Alabama on the
fourth Monday in April.[16][17] In
Mississippi
Mississippi it is observed on the
last Monday in April.[16][18] In
Texas
Texas it is called Confederate Heroes
Day and held on January 19 each year. Only one day off is given to
workers if it coincides with Martin Luther King Day.[16][19]
See also[edit]
Commemoration of the American Civil War Lee-Jackson Day Robert E. Lee Day
References[edit]
^ Boyer, Paul S., ed. (2001). The Oxford Companion to United States
History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 132.
ISBN 0-19-508209-5.
^ Woolf, Henry Bosley, ed. (1976). Webster's New Collegiate
Dictionary. Springfield, Massachusetts: G. & C. Merriam Co.
p. 236. ISBN 0-87779-338-7. OL 5207141M.
^ a b Lucian Lamar Knight. "Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and
Legends ...: Under the code duello ..." Books.google.com. p. 156.
Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ "The Soldiers' Graves". Digital Library of Georgia. Atlanta
Intelligencer. March 21, 1866. p. 2. Retrieved February 27,
2017.
^ ""Woman's Honor to the Gallant Dead," Macon Telegraph, March 26,
1866, p. 5". Digital Library of Georgia. Retrieved February 27,
2017.
^ ""In Memory of the Confederate Dead," Daily Phoenix, Columbia, SC,
April 4, 1866, p. 2". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 26,
2017.
^ ""The Southern Dead," Staunton Spectator, Staunton, VA, March 27,
1866 p.1". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
^ ""The Southern Dead," Anderson Intelligencer, Anderson Court House,
SC, March 29, 1866, p.1". Library of Congress. Retrieved February 26,
2017.
^ ""In Memory of the Confederate Dead," Wilmington Journal,
Wilmington, NC, April 5, 1866, p.1". Library of Congress. Retrieved
February 25, 2017.
^ "Lizzie Rutherford (1833-1873) New Georgia Encyclopedia".
Georgiaencyclopedia.org. 2004. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
^ ""Confederate Soldiers' Dead," Louisiana Democrat, July 18, 1866".
Library of Congress. July 18, 1866. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
^ "Will They Notice This Touching Tribute". Library of Congress.
Columbus, OH: Ohio Statesman. May 4, 1866. p. 2. Retrieved
February 23, 2017.
^ Beath, Robert B. (1884). The Grand Army Blue-Book Containing the
Rules and Regulations of the
Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic and Decisions
and Opinions Thereon . Google Books. Philadelphia: Grand Army of the
Republic. p. 118. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
^ "Logan, Mrs. John A., Reminiscences of a Soldier's Wife, C. Scribner
sons, 1913, p. 243". Google Books. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
^ ""The Right of Citizenship," Evansville Journal July 30, 1866 p. 4".
Library of Congress. July 30, 1866. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
^ a b c "Confederate
Memorial Day
Memorial Day in the United States". time and
date.com. Time and Date AS. n.d. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
^ "Confederate
Memorial Day
Memorial Day still recognized in
Alabama
Alabama and across the
South".
Alabama
Alabama Media Group. The Associated Press. April 27,
2015.
^ "Confederate Memorial Day". Sos.ms.gov. April 27, 2015. Retrieved
January 15, 2016.
^ "State
Holiday Schedule for Fiscal Year 2017" (PDF).
Texas
Texas State
Auditor's Office. n.d. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
Further reading[edit]
"Confederate Memorial Day" [Wilson County, North Carolina] (Black
& white photoprint). Chapel Hill, N.C.: North Carolina Digital
Heritage Center, DigitalNC. c. 1890. 5587. Retrieved December 20,
2016.
Bellware, Daniel, and Richard Gardiner, PhD. The Genesis of the
Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Holiday in America. Columbus, GA: Columbus State U, 2014.
Print.
"Confederate
Memorial Day
Memorial Day parade on Main Street" [Wauchula, Florida]
(Black & white photoprint). Tallahassee, Fla.: State Archives of
Florida, Florida Memory. 1912. RC21281. Retrieved December 20,
2016.
Gore, Leada (October 16, 2015). "Georgia Does Away With Confederate
Memorial Day, Robert E. Lee Birthday". The Birmingham News.
Birmingham, Ala. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
Jackson, Ed (n.d.). "Confederate
Memorial Day
Memorial Day in Georgia".
GeorgiaInfo. Atlanta, Ga. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
Napier, Cameron Freeman (2013). "Confederate Memorial Day".
Encyclopedia of Alabama. Ramer, Ala. Retrieved December 20,
2016.
Ruiz, Myra (May 11, 2015). "Historians Explain Reason for Observing
Confederate Memorial Day". WYFF-TV. Greenville, S.C. Retrieved
December 20, 2016.
Russonello, Giovanni (April 27, 2017). "Trevor Noah Has a Hard Time
With Confederate Memorial Day". The New York Times. Retrieved April
27, 2017.
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