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| Confederate Cemetery at Beauvais House, Jefferson Davis’ home located in Biloxi, MS |
As Memorial Day nears, we looked up the history of Confederate Memorial Day. Our native home, Louisiana, holds its Confederate Memorial Day on June 3. How did they choose the date?
Well, June 3 is the birthday of the President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis. The other Confederate States have different dates, each one having a different meaning.
Actually, the observance was started by a widow, whose husband had died in the Civil War. Her young daughter plucked the weeds off of the graves of unknown soldiers, and scattered flowers over them. She called the soldiers “My Soldiers.” Unfortunately, the girl soon joined her father. The widow then made Confederate Memorial Day come to life, and the custom became a yearly tradition. I’ll leave you with a poem, written by an unknown author.
Confederate Memorial DayAuthor Unknown
The marching armies of the past
Along our Southern plains,
Are sleeping now in quiet rest
Beneath the Southern rains.
The bugle call is now in vain
To rouse them from their bed;
To arms they’ll never march again–
They are sleeping with the dead.
No more will Shiloh’s plains be stained
With blood our heroes shed,
Nor Chancellorsville resound again
To our noble warriors’ tread.
For them no more shall reveille
Sound at the break of dawn,
But may their sleep peaceful be
Till God’s great judgment morn.
We bow our heads in solemn prayer
For those who wore the gray,
And clasp again their unseen hands
On our Memorial Day.
