Today is the “official” observance of Memorial Day. But did you know that
the original Memorial Day was observed on April 26 in Alabama, Florida,
Georgia, and Mississippi; on May 10 in North Carolina and South Carolina; on
May 30 in Virginia; and on June 3 in Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee.
This was “Confederate Memorial Day” – a day set aside in the South to pay
tribute to those who served with the Confederate forces during the American
Civil War.
The founder of the Federal Memorial Day, Gen. John A. Logan (Commander in
Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic), was so impressed with the way the
South honored their dead with a special day, he became convinced that such a
day must be created to honor Union dead. The battlefield graves all around
Richmond could be seen “marked with little white flags, faded wreaths of
laurel” where family and friends of Confederate soldiers had placed them.
Logan is reported to have been “deeply touched” and said “it was most
fittting; that the ancients, especially the Greeks, had honored their dead,
particularly their heroes, by chaplets of laurel and flowers, and that he
intended to issue an order designating a day for decorating the grave of
every soldier in this land, and if he could he would have made it a
holiday.” This of course was done in 1868, thus the start of the Yankee
Memorial Day.
The Civil War touched the lives of everyone at the time, and it continues to
do so today. Much has been written recently concerning the Confederate Flag,
which most true Southerners feel represents the heritage passed down to them
from their ancestors.
“It’s offensive,” some have said, “because it glorifies slavery, represents
a period of rebellion, and romanticizes war.” On the contrary…
It’s not a matter of romanticizing war, for none condemned war more than
those who suffered the horror and trauma of battle. The only thing it
glorifies is the gritty courage of those who fought and died on this
country’s bloodiest battlefields. Those were our Father’s and Grandfather’s
bodies in those countless numbers of caskets wrapped in that flag and who
now rest on hallowed ground.
And yes, the Southern soil where they now rest is hallowed! If the
Confederate flag no longer can be acknowledged, WHAT NEXT? Are all the
statues of the Confederate Generals who silently stand guard on court house
lawns to be reduced to rubble?
Will we ever be allowed to sing “Dixie” in polite society again?
In an article which appeared in the New York Tribune, during the
war-between-the-states, a correspondent wrote:
“A people separated from their heritage are easily persuaded,” This
particular correspondent zealously supported the Northern side in the bitter
conflict. He went on to say: “If you erase the symbols of a people’s
heritage, you erase their public identity and memory, and then you can
‘persuade’ them in whatever you want.”
For once in his life, this correspondent knew what he was talking about.
His name was Karl Marx.
[from an article “You Ain’t Just Whistlin Dixie”]
For more on flying the Stars and Bars (true Confederate National flag had a
small constellation of white stars on the blue field similar to the Federal
flag; and three large bars of red/white where the 13 stripes appear today –
NOT the naval ensign that the KKK loonies wave around which was NEVER the
southern flag) this Memorial Day, see this link –
http://home.att.net/~mysmerelda/confederate.html
~~
Dr Bob Griffin, www.grif.net
1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given