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 Confederatesoldiers 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]
The first official celebration as a public holiday occurred in 1874, following a proclamation by the Georgia legislature.[25] By 1916, ten states celebrated it, on June 3, the birthday of CSA President Jefferson Davis.[25] Other states chose late April dates, or May 10, commemorating Davis' capture.[25]
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.[5][6] In some places, the holiday attracted revived interest as a reaction to the early civil rights movement in the 1950s.[7]
Connection to Memorial Day
In their book, The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America, Bellware and Gardiner assert that the national Memorial Day holiday is a direct offshoot of the observance begun by the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia in 1866. In a few places, most notably Columbus, Mississippi[26] and Macon, Georgia,[27] both Confederate and Union graves were decorated during the first observance. The day was even referred to as 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.[28]
While initially cool to the idea of a Northern version of the holiday, General John A. Logan was eventually won over. His General Order No. 11, issued May 5, 1868, commanded the posts of Grand Army of the Republic to strew flowers on the graves of Union soldiers. The Grand Army of the Republic eventually adopted the name Memorial Day at their national encampment in 1882.[29]
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 Mary Logan claims she told him about it after a trip to Virginia in the spring of that year.[30] 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.[31] 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]
Statutory holidays
Confederate Memorial Day is a statutory holiday in Alabama on the fourth Monday in April, in Mississippi on the final Monday in April, and in South Carolina on May 10.[32][33][34][35][14] In all of these states, state offices are closed on this day (in Texas a so-called "skeleton crew" is required however staff are later compensated for their work on the holiday.[36]
In Georgia, the fourth Monday in April was formerly celebrated as Confederate Memorial Day, but beginning in 2016, in response to the Charleston church shooting, the names of Confederate Memorial Day and Robert E. Lee's Birthday were struck from the state calendar and the statutory holidays were designated simply as "state holidays".[37]Florida also continues to officially designate Confederate Memorial Day on the fourth Monday in April, although state offices remain open.[38]
North Carolina also designates the holiday on May 10, although state offices remain open and localities may choose whether to observe it.[39][40]
In Tennessee, the governor is required by law to proclaim Confederate Decoration Day each June 3.[11]
Texas
In Texas, Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19) was made a state holiday in 1931.[48] In 1973, "Lee Day" was renamed "Confederate Heroes Day", consolidating it with a holiday celebrating Jefferson Davis and putting it the day after Martin Luther King Day.[46] The official state description of the holiday states it is held "in honor of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and other Confederate heroes;".[46] State offices remain open but employees may have an optional day off.
Controversy
The holiday has been condemned by the Southern Poverty Law Center 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] Critics often cite the fact that the Confederacy was formed for the purpose of protecting slavery.[49] Some commemorations have been met with groups of protesters.[50]
Various proposals have been made in the legislatures of the states still recognizing it to remove it from the list of state holidays or commemorations, or to replace it with Juneteenth.[51][49]
^"TEXAS CONFEDERATE HEROES DAY AND CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY"(PDF). Texas Division United Daughters of the Confederacy. Archived(PDF) from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021. "House Bill 126, 42nd Legislature Regular Session. Chapter 8. Approved and Effective January 30, 1931 as Robert E. Lee's Birthday.; Senate Bill 60, 63rd Legislature Regular Session. Chapter 221. Approved June 1, 1973 and Effective August 27, 1973 as Confederate Heroes Day. This bill deleted June 3rd as a holiday for Jefferson Davis' birthday and combined the two into Confederate Heroes Day."
(federal) = federal holidays, (abbreviation) = state/territorial holidays, (religious) = religious holidays, (cultural) = holiday related to a specific racial/ethnic group or sexual minority, (week) = week-long holidays, (month) = month-long holidays, (36) = Title 36 Observances and Ceremonies
