| Confederate Memorial Day | |
|---|---|
 Standard government headstone for unknown Confederate soldier, Beechgrove, Tennessee | |
| Also called | Confederate Heroes Day, Confederate Decoration Day |
| Observed by | Southern states (United States) |
| Type | Cultural |
| Observances | Remembrance of Confederate soldiers who died during the American Civil War |
| Date | |
| Frequency | annual |
| First time | April 26, 1866 |
| Related to | |
Confederate Memorial Day (called Confederate Heroes Day in Texas and Florida, and Confederate Decoration Day in Tennessee) is a holiday observed in several Southern U.S. states on various dates since the end of the American Civil War. The holiday was originally publicly presented as a day to remember the estimated 258,000 Confederate soldiers who died during the American Civil War.[1]
The holiday originated at a local level by Ladies' Memorial Associations to care for the graves of Confederate dead.[2] In 1866, General John A. Logan commanded the posts of Grand Army of the Republic to strew flowers on the graves of Union soldiers, which observance later became the national Memorial Day. 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..."[3]
The Southern Poverty Law Center has condemned the holiday as part of a campaign of "racial terror" on the part of white supremacists - "an organized propaganda campaign, created to instill fear and ensure the ongoing oppression of formerly enslaved people."[4] Writers and historians have pointed out that the holiday's official recognition by states often coincided with the height of Jim Crow racism around the United States, decades after the war ended.[5][6] Renewed interest also revived the holiday in some places during the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s.[7]
It is currently an official state holiday in Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas (where state employees are entitled to a paid day off work), while it is commemorated in Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14] It was also formerly recognized in Missouri, Louisiana, and Virginia.[15] In Georgia, a state holiday is still observed on the 4th Monday in April however, since 2016, it is referred to simply as a "State Holiday". Several states celebrate the date on or near April 26, when the last major Confederate field army surrendered at Bennett Place, North Carolina in 1865.[16]
- ^ Boyer, Paul S., ed. (2001). The Oxford Companion to United States History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 132. ISBN 0-19-508209-5.
- ^ Frank, Lisa Tendrich, The World of the Civil War: A Daily Life Encyclopedia, Volume I, p.517.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:0was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
News4Jaxwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Coaston, Jane (April 23, 2018). "Confederate Memorial Day: when multiple states celebrate treason in defense of slavery". Vox. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ Frank, Lisa Tendrich (July 28, 2015). "Confederate%20Memorial%20day%20became" The World of the Civil War: A Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Daily Life Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 517. ISBN 978-1-4408-2979-6. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
- ^ Cox, Karen L. (February 23, 2021). No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1-4696-6268-8.
- ^ "Code of Laws – Title 53 – Chapter 5 – Legal Holidays". www.scstatehouse.gov. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- ^ "Confederate Memorial Day still recognized in Alabama and across the South". AL.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- ^ "Alabama Code Title 1. General Provisions § 1-3-8". Findlaw. Archived from the original on May 18, 2018. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
- ^ Allison, Natalie (July 12, 2019). "Gov. Bill Lee Signs Nathan Bedford Forrest Day Proclamation, Is Not Considering Law Change." Archived June 10, 2022, at the Wayback Machine The Tennessean (Tennessean.com). Retrieved July 12, 2019.
- ^ Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board (April 20, 2021). "Pandering to the base: Florida protects Confederate holidays, makes felons of protesters – Editorial". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ Reimann, Nicholas (April 26, 2021). "State Offices Close For 'Confederate Memorial Day' In Alabama And Mississippi – Here's Why It's (Still) An Official Holiday There". Forbes. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ "GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 662. HOLIDAYS AND RECOGNITION DAYS, WEEKS, AND MONTHS". statutes.capitol.texas.gov. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Washington, DC: United States Government Publishing Office. 1925. p. 68.
- ^ 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.