Login
Login

Confederate Memorial Day

{{Short description|Observance in some Southern U.S. states}}

{{distinguish|Memorial Day}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2016}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}

{{Infobox holiday

|holiday_name = Confederate Memorial Day

|type = local

|image = Beech-Grove-Confederate-Cemetery-grave-tn1.jpg

|caption = Standard government headstone for unknown Confederate soldier, Beechgrove, Tennessee

|nickname = Confederate Heroes Day, Confederate Decoration Day

|observedby = Southern states (United States)

|longtype = Cultural

|duration = 1 day

|date = {{plainlist|1=

  • January 19 (TX)
  • Fourth Monday in
    April (AL, FL)
  • Last Monday in April (MS)
  • May 10 (NC, SC)
  • June 3 (KY, TN)

}}

|frequency = annual

|firsttime = {{Start date and age|1866|04|26|p=1|br=1}}

|observances = Remembrance of Confederate soldiers who died during the American Civil War

|relatedto = {{unbulleted list|Lee–Jackson Day|Robert E. Lee Day}}

}}

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.{{cite book |editor-last=Boyer |editor-first=Paul S. |editor-link=Paul Boyer (historian) |date=2001 |title=The Oxford Companion to United States History |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00paul_0/page/132 132] |isbn=0-19-508209-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00paul_0/page/132 }}

The holiday originated at a local level by Ladies' Memorial Associations to care for the graves of Confederate dead.Frank, Lisa Tendrich, The World of the Civil War: A Daily Life Encyclopedia, Volume I, p.517. 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..."

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." 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.{{cite web |last1=Coaston |first1=Jane |title=Confederate Memorial Day: when multiple states celebrate treason in defense of slavery |url=https://www.vox.com/2018/4/23/17271408/confederate-memorial-day-racism-civil-war-slavery |website=Vox |access-date=10 June 2022 |language=en |date=23 April 2018 |archive-date=April 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413090540/https://www.vox.com/2018/4/23/17271408/confederate-memorial-day-racism-civil-war-slavery |url-status=live }}{{cite book |last1=Frank |first1=Lisa Tendrich |title=The World of the Civil War: A Daily Life Encyclopedia [2 volumes]: A Daily Life Encyclopedia |date=28 July 2015 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-2979-6 |page=517 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0I4qCgAAQBAJ&q="Confederate%20Memorial%20day%20became" |access-date=10 June 2022 |language=en}} Renewed interest also revived the holiday in some places during the beginning of the civil rights movement in the 1950s.{{cite book |last1=Cox |first1=Karen L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sjf_DwAAQBAJ |title=No Common Ground: Confederate Monuments and the Ongoing Fight for Racial Justice |date=23 February 2021 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1-4696-6268-8 |language=en}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t53c005.php|title=Code of Laws – Title 53 – Chapter 5 – Legal Holidays|website=www.scstatehouse.gov|language=en|access-date=May 17, 2018|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518055143/https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t53c005.php|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/confederate_memorial_day_still.html|title=Confederate Memorial Day still recognized in Alabama and across the South|work=AL.com|access-date=May 17, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518055200/https://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/confederate_memorial_day_still.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://codes.findlaw.com/al/title-1-general-provisions/al-code-sect-1-3-8.html|title=Alabama Code Title 1. General Provisions § 1-3-8|work=Findlaw|access-date=May 17, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=May 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518060530/https://codes.findlaw.com/al/title-1-general-provisions/al-code-sect-1-3-8.html|url-status=live}}Allison, Natalie (July 12, 2019). [https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/12/tennessee-nathan-bedford-forrest-day-gov-bill-lee-signs-proclamation/1684059001/ "Gov. Bill Lee Signs Nathan Bedford Forrest Day Proclamation, Is Not Considering Law Change."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610193456/https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2019/07/12/tennessee-nathan-bedford-forrest-day-gov-bill-lee-signs-proclamation/1684059001/ |date=June 10, 2022 }} The Tennessean (Tennessean.com). Retrieved July 12, 2019.{{Cite news |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/editorials/os-op-florida-confederate-memorial-day-juneteenth-20210420-v57lx3ci2zaizmlcom2zolee7q-story.html |title=Pandering to the base: Florida protects Confederate holidays, makes felons of protesters – Editorial |author=Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board |newspaper=Orlando Sentinel |date=April 20, 2021 |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512084727/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/editorials/os-op-florida-confederate-memorial-day-juneteenth-20210420-v57lx3ci2zaizmlcom2zolee7q-story.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/04/26/state-offices-close-for-confederate-memorial-day-in-alabama-and-mississippi-heres-why-its-still-an-official-holiday-there/?sh=27e989f835fe |title=State Offices Close For 'Confederate Memorial Day' In Alabama And Mississippi{{snd}}Here's Why It's (Still) An Official Holiday There |last=Reimann |first=Nicholas |work=Forbes |date=April 26, 2021 |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511211857/https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicholasreimann/2021/04/26/state-offices-close-for-confederate-memorial-day-in-alabama-and-mississippi-heres-why-its-still-an-official-holiday-there/?sh=27e989f835fe |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 662. HOLIDAYS AND RECOGNITION DAYS, WEEKS, AND MONTHS |url=https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.662.htm |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=statutes.capitol.texas.gov}} It was also formerly recognized in Missouri, Louisiana, and Virginia.{{cite book |author= |title=Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mjLUeA3gyEwC&q=confederate%20memorial%20day%20virginia&pg=RA4-PA68 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=United States Government Publishing Office |page=68 |date=1925 |isbn=}} 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.{{cite book |editor-last=Woolf |editor-first=Henry Bosley |title=Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary |date=1976 |publisher=G. & C. Merriam Co. |location=Springfield, Massachusetts |page=[https://archive.org/details/webstersnewcolle02spri/page/236 236] |isbn=0-87779-338-7 |ol=5207141M |url=https://archive.org/details/webstersnewcolle02spri/page/236 }}

Origins

File:Dr Stephen Carney 02 - Confederate Memorial Day - Arlington National Cemetery - 2014.jpg, Arlington National Cemetery, on June 8, 2014]]

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 secretary, was directed to pen a letter inviting ladies associations in every former Confederate state to join them in the observance.{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0zczAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA156 |title=Georgia's Landmarks, Memorials, and Legends ...: Under the code duello ... |author=Lucian Lamar Knight |page=156 |website=Books.google.com |access-date=January 15, 2016 |year=1914 |archive-date=January 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116060332/https://books.google.com/books?id=0zczAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA156 |url-status=live }} Their invitation was written in March 1866 and sent to all of the principal cities in the former Confederacy, including Atlanta;{{Cite web |url=http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers-j2k/view?docId=bookreader/adi/adi1866/adi1866-0248.mets.xml#page/n0/mode/1up |title=The Soldiers' Graves |publisher=Atlanta Intelligencer |date=March 21, 1866 |page=2 |website=Digital Library of Georgia |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228085214/http://atlnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/atlnewspapers-j2k/view?docId=bookreader%2Fadi%2Fadi1866%2Fadi1866-0248.mets.xml#page/n0/mode/1up |url-status=live }} Macon;{{Cite web |url=http://telegraph.galileo.usg.edu/telegraph/view?docId=bookreader/mwt/mwt1866/mwt1866-0069.mets.xml;#page/n0/mode/1up |title="Woman's Honor to the Gallant Dead," Macon Telegraph, March 26, 1866, p. 5 |website=Digital Library of Georgia |access-date=February 27, 2017 |archive-date=June 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610193552/https://gahistoricnewspapers.galileo.usg.edu/regions/middle/?docId=bookreader%2Fmwt%2Fmwt1866%2Fmwt1866-0069.mets.xml%3B#page/n0/mode/1up |url-status=live }} Montgomery; Memphis; Richmond; St. Louis; Alexandria; Columbia;{{Cite journal |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84027008/1866-04-04/ed-1/seq-2 |title="In Memory of the Confederate Dead," Daily Phoenix, Columbia, SC, April 4, 1866, p. 2 |website=Library of Congress |date=April 4, 1866 |access-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228165838/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84027008/1866-04-04/ed-1/seq-2/ |url-status=live }} and New Orleans, as well as smaller towns like Staunton, Virginia;{{Cite journal |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024718/1866-03-27/ed-1/seq-1 |title="The Southern Dead," Staunton Spectator, Staunton, VA, March 27, 1866 p.1 |website=Library of Congress |date=March 27, 1866 |access-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228165814/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84024718/1866-03-27/ed-1/seq-1/ |url-status=live }} Anderson, South Carolina;{{Cite journal |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026965/1866-03-29/ed-1/seq-1 |title="The Southern Dead," Anderson Intelligencer, Anderson Court House, SC, March 29, 1866, p.1 |website=Library of Congress |date=March 29, 1866 |access-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228171746/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026965/1866-03-29/ed-1/seq-1/ |url-status=live }} and Wilmington, North Carolina.{{Cite journal |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026536/1866-04-05/ed-1/seq-1 |title="In Memory of the Confederate Dead," Wilmington Journal, Wilmington, NC, April 5, 1866, p.1 |website=Library of Congress |date=April 5, 1866 |access-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301094028/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026536/1866-04-05/ed-1/seq-1/ |url-status=live }} The actual date for the holiday was selected by Elizabeth Rutherford Ellis.{{cite web |url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2901 |title=Lizzie Rutherford (1833–1873) | New Georgia Encyclopedia |website=Georgiaencyclopedia.org |date=2004 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-date=May 11, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511235731/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2901 |url-status=live }} 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.

The first official celebration as a public holiday occurred in 1874, following a proclamation by the Georgia legislature.{{cite web |title=Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia |url=https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/history/article/civil-war-reconstruction-1861-1877/confederate-memorial-day-in-georgia |website=GeorgiaInfo |publisher=University of Georgia |access-date=January 22, 2019 |archive-date=January 22, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122195602/https://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/history/article/civil-war-reconstruction-1861-1877/confederate-memorial-day-in-georgia |url-status=dead }} By 1916, ten states celebrated it, on June 3, the birthday of CSA President Jefferson Davis. Other states chose late April dates, or May 10, commemorating Davis' capture.

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. In some places, the holiday attracted revived interest as a reaction to the early civil rights movement in the 1950s.

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{{Cite news |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82003389/1866-07-18/ed-1/seq-3/ |title="Confederate Soldiers' Dead," Louisiana Democrat, July 18, 1866 |date=July 18, 1866 |website=Library of Congress |access-date=February 23, 2017 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225134413/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82003389/1866-07-18/ed-1/seq-3/ |url-status=live }} and Macon, Georgia,{{Cite news |url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028645/1866-05-04/ed-1/seq-2 |title=Will They Notice This Touching Tribute |publisher=Ohio Statesman |location=Columbus, OH |page=2 |date=May 4, 1866 |website=Library of Congress |access-date=February 23, 2017 |archive-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226132246/http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028645/1866-05-04/ed-1/seq-2/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite book|title=The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America|last=Bellware|first=Daniel|publisher=Columbus State University|year=2014|isbn=9780692292259|location=Columbus, GA|pages=87}}

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.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6BZCAAAAIAAJ |title=The Grand Army Blue-Book Containing the Rules and Regulations of the Grand Army of the Republic and Decisions and Opinions Thereon .. |location=Philadelphia |publisher=Grand Army of the Republic |page=118 |last=Beath |first=Robert B. |date=1884 |access-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-date=February 26, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226131803/https://books.google.com/books?id=6BZCAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lBJCAAAAIAAJ |title=Logan, Mrs. John A., Reminiscences of a Soldier's Wife, C. Scribner sons, 1913, p. 243 |website=Google Books |access-date=February 23, 2017 |last1=Logan |first1=Mrs. John A. |year=1913 |archive-date=February 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170225134723/https://books.google.com/books?id=lBJCAAAAIAAJ |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite book|title=The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America|last=Bellware|first=Daniel|publisher=Columbus State University|year=2014|isbn=9780692292259|location=Columbus, GA|pages=144}} 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..."{{Cite news|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1866-07-14/ed-1/seq-5/|title=Illinois – Gen. Logan on Reconstruction," New York Tribune July 14, 1866 p. 5.|date=July 14, 1866|website=Library of Congress|access-date=April 29, 2018|archive-date=April 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430113818/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1866-07-14/ed-1/seq-5/|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/confederate-memorial-day |title=Confederate Memorial Day in the United States |website=time and date.com |publisher=Time and Date AS |access-date=October 17, 2017 |archive-date=October 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017093718/https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/confederate-memorial-day |url-status=live }}{{cite news |agency=The Associated Press |date=April 27, 2015 |title=Confederate Memorial Day still recognized in Alabama and across the South |publisher=Alabama Media Group |url=http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/confederate_memorial_day_still.html |access-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-date=July 26, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150726194320/http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/04/confederate_memorial_day_still.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.sos.ms.gov/Education-Publications/Pages/Proclamation-Confederate.aspx |title=Confederate Memorial Day |website=Sos.ms.gov |date=April 27, 2015 |access-date=January 15, 2016 |archive-date=January 28, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128045649/http://www.sos.ms.gov/Education-Publications/Pages/Proclamation-Confederate.aspx |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Code of Laws - Title 53 - Chapter 5 - Legal Holidays |url=https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t53c005.php |website=www.scstatehouse.gov |access-date=May 17, 2018 |archive-date=May 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518055143/https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t53c005.php |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite web |title=State of Texas Holiday Schedule - Fiscal 2024 |url=https://comptroller.texas.gov/about/holidays.php |access-date=2024-01-21 |website=comptroller.texas.gov}}

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".{{cite news |title=Why Monday is no longer Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia |url=https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/confederate-memorial-day-disappears-from-2016-georgia-holiday-calendars/ef2nD9pIa8itUbrEKhBbvL/ |date=April 23, 2018 |access-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-date=February 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200215202135/https://www.ajc.com/blog/politics/confederate-memorial-day-disappears-from-2016-georgia-holiday-calendars/ef2nD9pIa8itUbrEKhBbvL/ |url-status=live }} Florida also continues to officially designate Confederate Memorial Day on the fourth Monday in April, although state offices remain open.{{cite news |last1=staff |first1=News4Jax |title=Confederate Memorial Day remains legal holiday in Florida, other southern states |url=https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2021/04/26/confederate-memorial-day-remains-legal-holiday-in-florida-other-southern-states/ |work=WJXT |date=26 April 2021 |language=en |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512150220/https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2021/04/26/confederate-memorial-day-remains-legal-holiday-in-florida-other-southern-states/ |url-status=live }}

North Carolina also designates the holiday on May 10, although state offices remain open and localities may choose whether to observe it.{{cite news |title=Do Some US States Observe 'Confederate Memorial Day'? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/confederate-memorial-day/ |work=Snopes.com |access-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-date=March 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325205649/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/confederate-memorial-day/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=What the controversial Confederate Memorial Day would be in other countries |first=Annalisa |last=Merelli |date=May 10, 2018 |newspaper=Quartz |url=https://qz.com/1274668/confederate-memorial-day-historical-equivalents-in-germany-russia-italy-and-more/ |access-date=May 13, 2018 |archive-date=May 14, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514065556/https://qz.com/1274668/confederate-memorial-day-historical-equivalents-in-germany-russia-italy-and-more/ |url-status=live }}

In June 2022, the Louisiana State Legislature voted to remove Confederate Memorial Day, as well as Robert E. Lee Day, from the state's calendar of official holidays.{{cite web |last1=Canicosa |first1=J. C. |title=Louisiana Legislature agrees to get rid of Confederate state holidays |url=https://lailluminator.com/briefs/louisiana-legislature-agrees-to-get-rid-of-confederate-state-holidays/ |website=Louisiana Illuminator |access-date=June 10, 2022 |archive-date=June 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607033632/https://lailluminator.com/briefs/louisiana-legislature-agrees-to-get-rid-of-confederate-state-holidays/ |url-status=live }}

class="wikitable sortable"

!State !! Recognized !! Derecognized !! Type !! Date

Alabama1901[http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1663? Confederate Memorial Day - Encyclopedia of Alabama]-State holidayLast Monday in April
Florida1895[https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/01/16/5-things-to-know-about-florida-s-confederate-holidays 5 things to know about Florida's Confederate holidays]-CommemorationFourth Monday in April
Georgia187420164th Monday in April is now called "State Holiday"Fourth Monday in April
Kentucky?-Commemoration
Louisianac. 1925[https://www.blackenterprise.com/louisiana-senate-approves-removing-robert-e-lee-day-and-confederate-memorial-day-from-states-legal-holiday-calendar/ Louisiana Senate Approves Removing Robert E. Lee Day and Confederate Memorial Day From State’s Legal Holiday Calendar]2022State holidayApril 26
Mississippi?-State holidayLast Monday in April
Missouri??
North Carolina?-CommemorationMay 10
South Carolina1896[https://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2022/05/05/south-carolina-confederate-memorial-day-how-observed-changes-proposed-racism-juneteenth/9543034002/ How South Carolina observes Confederate Memorial Day and how that could change]-State holiday (made non-optional in 2000)May 10
Tennessee1903-Annual proclamation required by lawJune 3
Texas1973-State Holiday (with skeletal crew workers later compensated)January 19
Virginia18992020[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/virginia-jackson-lee-holiday-confederate-generals-not-celebrated-2021-first-time-in-100-years/ Virginia holiday commemorating Confederate generals won't be celebrated in 2021, for the first time in over 100 years]

=Related holidays=

==Tennessee==

In Tennessee, the governor is required by law to proclaim Confederate Decoration Day each June 3.

==Texas==

In Texas, state offices remain open on this day but employees may have an optional, paid day off with state offices working a skeleton crew.{{cite news |last1=Grissom |first1=Brandi |title=Texplainer: Why the Skeleton Staffs at State Offices Today? |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2011/01/19/texplainer-state-offices-have-skeleton-crews-today/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=Texas Tribune |date=19 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240720073918/https://www.texastribune.org/2011/01/19/texplainer-state-offices-have-skeleton-crews-today/ |archive-date=20 July 2024}}

In 1931, the Texas Legislature made Robert E. Lee's birthday (January 19) a state holiday.{{cite web |title=TEXAS CONFEDERATE HEROES DAY AND CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY |url=https://www.txudc.org/TCHMDHandout.pdf |publisher=Texas Division United Daughters of the Confederacy |access-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607173646/https://www.txudc.org/TCHMDHandout.pdf |url-status=usurped }}

In 1973, the Texas House had massive turnover, with 71 incoming freshman and 8 new Black representatives, which was the most in the House since the Reconstruction era. One of the new Black legislators, Senfronia Thompson, filed a bill to make January 15 a state holiday for Martin Luther King Jr., as an "honorary" state holiday that would not have any state offices or banks close in observance. The bill did not get a vote,{{cite news |last1=McCullar |first1=Emily |title=Why Texas Still Celebrates Confederate Heroes Day |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-confederate-heroes-day-abolish/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=Texas Monthly |date=3 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506031516/https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/texas-confederate-heroes-day-abolish/ |archive-date=6 May 2024}} but they did make other changes to the state holidays: the Texas Legislature removed Jefferson Davis's and Robert E. Lee's birthdays as state holidays, and replaced them with Confederate Heroes Day, to be celebrated on January 19.{{cite web |title=Official Texas State Holidays |url=https://www.tsl.texas.gov/ref/abouttx/holidays |website=Texas State Library and Archives Commission |publisher=Texas State Library and Archives Commission |access-date=3 January 2025}}

In 1987, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was added as a federal holiday for the third Monday in January, and in that year the Texas Legislature made it an optional state holiday, and in 1991 they made MLK Day an official state holiday. In some years (1987, 1998, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2026) MLK Jr. Day and Confederate Heroes Day fall on the same day.{{cite news |title=What is Confederate Heroes Day and why do Texans still celebrate it today? |url=https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/01/19/what-is-confederate-heroes-day-and-why-do-texans-still-celebrate-it-today/ |publisher=KSAT - Omne - Graham Media Group |author1=Jakob Rodriguez |author2=Japhanie Gray |date=19 January 2021 |access-date=2023-01-25 |archive-date=June 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210607173646/https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2021/01/19/what-is-confederate-heroes-day-and-why-do-texans-still-celebrate-it-today/ |url-status=live }}

Texas state Representatives and Senators have tried to amend or abolish Confederate Heroes Day from the state calendar:

  • 2015: State Representative Donna Howard filed a bill to rename the holiday Civil War Remembrance Day; it did not get out of the committee for a vote{{cite news |last1=Bohra |first1=Neelam |title=After a year of racial reckoning, Black lawmakers believe they can finally eliminate Confederate Heroes Day in Texas |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/15/texas-legislature-confederate-heroes-day/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=Texas Tribune |date=15 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914234301/https://www.texastribune.org/2021/01/15/texas-legislature-confederate-heroes-day/ |archive-date=14 September 2024}}
  • 2019: State Representative Jarvis Johnson filed a bill to end the state holiday. It did not get out of committee.{{cite news |last1=Barragan |first1=James |title=Texas lawmakers want to end state holiday commemorating Confederate veterans |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/18/texas-confederate-heroes-day-holiday-bill/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |work=The Texas Tribune |date=18 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241005105950/https://www.texastribune.org/2023/01/18/texas-confederate-heroes-day-holiday-bill/ |archive-date=5 October 2024}}
  • 2021: State Representatives Jarvis Johnson and Shawn Thierry filed bills to abolish the holiday, and state Senator Nathan M. Johnson filed a bill to replace the holiday with one in June celebrating suffrage for all Americans; these did not get out of committee.
  • 2023: State Representative Jarvis Johnson again filed a bill to remove the holiday and state Senator Nathan Johnson sponsored legislation in the Senate; they did not get out of committee.

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".[https://www.news4jax.com/news/florida/2021/04/26/confederate-memorial-day-remains-legal-holiday-in-florida-other-southern-states/ Confederate Memorial Day remains legal holiday in Florida, other southern states] Critics often cite the fact that the Confederacy was formed for the purpose of protecting slavery. Some commemorations have been met with groups of protesters.[https://thehill.com/news/state-watch/3473603-civil-rights-activists-protest-confederate-memorial-day-at-georgias-stone-mountain/ Civil rights activists protest Confederate Memorial Day at Georgia’s Stone Mountain]

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.[https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/a-day-to-celebrate-confederate-memorial-day-is-still-on-the-books-in-fl/ A day to celebrate? Confederate Memorial Day is still on the books in FL][https://www.wftv.com/news/local/confederate-memorial-day-what-is-controversial-holiday-recognized-florida/DEQFWYXUMVGP3F4HENP2PKBDRA/ Confederate Memorial Day: What is the controversial holiday recognized in Florida?]

The campaign for de-recognition of the holiday overlaps with that for removal of Confederate monuments and memorials, and is often highlighted after incidents of racial violence, such as the Charleston church shooting, the 2017 Charlottesville car attack,[https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2018/06/03/confederate-memorial-day-jefferson-davis-kentucky/667550002/ Why is today Confederate Memorial Day in Kentucky?] and the 2020 murder of George Floyd.

See also

References

{{Reflist|30em}}

Further reading

{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}

  • {{cite web |title=Confederate Memorial Day |trans-title=Wilson County, North Carolina |url=http://library.digitalnc.org/cdm/ref/collection/ncimages/id/5587 |type=Black & white photoprint |location=Chapel Hill, N.C. |publisher=North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, DigitalNC |date=c. 1890 |id=5587 |access-date=December 20, 2016}}
  • Bellware, Daniel, and Richard Gardiner, PhD. [https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Memorial-Day-Holiday/dp/069229225X The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America]. Columbus, GA: Columbus State U, 2014. Print.
  • {{cite news |last=Gore |first=Leada |date=October 16, 2015 |title=Georgia Does Away With Confederate Memorial Day, Robert E. Lee Birthday |url=http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/georgia_does_away_with_confede.html |newspaper=The Birmingham News |location=Birmingham, Ala. |access-date=December 20, 2016}}
  • {{cite encyclopedia |last=Jackson |first=Ed |date=n.d. |title=Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia |url=http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/topics/history/article/antebellum-era-18011860/confederate-memorial-day-in-georgia |encyclopedia=GeorgiaInfo|location=Atlanta, Ga. |access-date=December 20, 2016}}
  • {{cite encyclopedia |last=Napier |first=Cameron Freeman |date=2013 |title=Confederate Memorial Day |url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1663 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Alabama |location=Ramer, Ala. |access-date=December 20, 2016}}
  • {{cite news |last=Ruiz |first=Myra |date=May 11, 2015 |title=Historians Explain Reason for Observing Confederate Memorial Day |url=http://www.wyff4.com/article/historians-explain-reason-for-observing-confederate-memorial-day/6805035 |location=Greenville, S.C. |work=WYFF-TV |access-date=December 20, 2016}}
  • {{cite news |last=Russonello |first=Giovanni |date=April 27, 2017 |title=Trevor Noah Has a Hard Time With Confederate Memorial Day |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/arts/television/trevor-noah-confederate-memorial-day.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |access-date=April 27, 2017}}

{{Div col end}}

External links

  • [https://www.ncpedia.org/confederate-memorial-day Confederate Memorial Day] at NCpedia (ncpedia.org)
  • {{Internet Archive author|name=Confederate Memorial Day}}

{{US Holidays|state=collapsed}}

{{Subject bar|portal1=American Civil War|portal2=Society|portal3=Holidays|commons=y|commons-search=Category:Confederate Memorial Day|s=y|s-search=Ode: Sung on the Occasion of Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead at Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, S.C., 1867}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Confederate Memorial Day}}

Category:1866 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)

Category:Alabama state holidays

Category:Annual events in the United States

Category:April 1866

Category:April observances

Category:Holidays related to the American Civil War

Category:January observances

Category:June observances

Category:May observances

Category:Mississippi state holidays

Category:Observances in the United States

Category:October observances

Category:Recurring events established in 1866

Category:Texas state holidays