{"id":238,"date":"2014-05-25T14:20:26","date_gmt":"2014-05-25T19:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/offbeattenn.com\/?p=238"},"modified":"2014-05-26T17:52:20","modified_gmt":"2014-05-26T22:52:20","slug":"memorial-day-roots-tennessee-south-include-confedrate-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/offbeattenn.com\/?p=238","title":{"rendered":"Memorial Day has its roots in Tennessee and in the south but does not include Confederate soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The earliest observance of a Memorial day occurred in Columbus, Mississippi, April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh in Tennessee. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the \u201cbirthplace\u201d of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo\u2019s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.<\/p>\n

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Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. \u00a0Tennessee officially celebrates on June 3, Jefferson Davis’ birthday and calls that date Confederate Decoration Day.<\/p>\n