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Confederate Memorial Day in Dixie
Huntington News ^ | April 17, 2012 | Calvin E. Johnson, Jr.

Posted on 04/19/2012 3:34:29 PM PDT by BigReb555

The South still remembers the men and women of the Confederate States of America who came from all races and religions that include: Cuban born Confederate Colonel Ambrosio Jose Gonzales, Irish-born General Patrick R. Cleburne and Black Confederate drummer Bill Yopp.

(Excerpt) Read more at huntingtonnews.net ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: dixie; southernmemorial
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Did you know that the first Memorial Day in America was held in the South in honor of both the soldiers of Union Blue and Confederate Gray?

Some folks call the War Between the States, 1861-1865, a lost cause but stories of the heroic- brave men and women who stood for Southern Independence are still cherished in the hearts and souls of many people throughout the South.

Why do people remember?

Tennessee Senator Edward Ward Carmack may have said it best in 1903; quote “The Confederate Soldiers were our kinfolk and our heroes. We testify to the country our enduring fidelity to their memory. We commemorate their valor and devotion. There were some things that were not surrendered at Appomattox. We did not surrender our rights and history; nor was it one of the conditions of surrender that unfriendly lips should be suffered to tell the story of that war or that unfriendly hands should write the epitaphs of the Confederate dead. We have the right to teach our children the true history of the war, the causes that led up to it and the principles involved.” unquote

That may be why….

The South still remembers the men and women of the Confederate States of America who came from all races and religions that include: Cuban born Confederate Colonel Ambrosio Jose Gonzales, Irish-born General Patrick R. Cleburne, Black Confederate drummer Bill Yopp, Mexican born Colonel Santos Benavides, Cherokee Born General Stand Watie and Jewish born Confederate Nurse Phoebe Pember who was the first female administrator of Chimboraza Hospital in Richmond, Virginia where she served until the end of the war.

In Richmond, Virginia there is a final resting place for Southern war dead. It is called the only Jewish military cemetery in the world outside the State of Israel. Here are the remains of Jewish soldiers who fought for the Confederacy.

A plaque was erected here by the Hebrew Ladies Memorial Association, organized in 1866, and lists the names of the soldiers buried here. The inscription reads: "To the glory of God and in memory of The Hebrew Confederate Soldiers resting in this hallowed spot." The State of Georgia has officially recognized April 26th as Confederate Memorial Day since 1874....And proclamations have been signed by Southern governors, commemorating April as Confederate History and Heritage Month since 1995.

Efforts to mark Confederate graves, erect monuments and hold memorial services were the idea of Mrs. Charles J. Williams. She was an educated and kind lady. Her husband served as Colonel of the 1st Georgia Regiment during the War Between the States. He died of disease in 1862, and was buried in his home town of Columbus, Georgia.

Mrs. Williams and her daughter visited his grave often and cleared the weeds, leaves and twigs from it, then placed flowers on it. Her daughter also pulled the weeds from other Confederate graves near her Father.

It saddened the little girl that their graves were unmarked. With tears of pride she said to her Mother, "These are my soldiers' graves." The daughter soon became ill and passed away in her childhood.

On a visit to the graves of her husband and daughter, Mrs. Williams looked at the unkept soldiers' graves and remembered her daughter as she cleaned the graves and what the little girl had said. She knew what she had to do.

Mrs. Williams wrote a letter that was published in Southern newspapers asking the women of the South for their help. She asked that memorial organizations be established to take care of the thousands of Confederate graves from the Potomac River to the Rio Grande. She also asked the state legislatures to set aside a day in April to remember the men who wore the gray. With her leadership April 26 was officially adopted in many states. She died in 1874, but not before her native state of Georgia adopted it as a legal holiday.

The Georgia Division Sons of Confederate Veterans joins the nation in commemorating the Sesquicentennial--150th Anniversary of the War Between the States now through 2015. Read more at: http://www.150wbts.org/

1 posted on 04/19/2012 3:34:36 PM PDT by BigReb555
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To: BigReb555

The most devastating war we ever fought on so many levels. The casualties on both sides were just staggering.


2 posted on 04/19/2012 4:04:20 PM PDT by KoRn (Department of Homeland Security, Certified - "Right Wing Extremist")
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To: nnn0jeh

Ping


3 posted on 04/19/2012 4:09:28 PM PDT by kalee (The offenses we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we engrave in marble. J Huett 1658)
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To: KoRn

In the South, the toll was proportionally higher than for France in WWI 1914-1918.


4 posted on 04/19/2012 4:56:53 PM PDT by Psalm 144 ("I'm not willing to light my hair on fire to try and get support. I am who I am." - Willard M Romney)
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To: BigReb555
Sure they were brave, but they still lost.

The lesson, be evermore careful of who you pick as an enemy.

5 posted on 04/19/2012 5:29:21 PM PDT by Last Dakotan
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To: BigReb555

Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Confederate Memorial Day
Top
Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Confederate Memorial Day, also known as Confederate Decoration Day (Tennessee) and Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), is an official holiday and/or observance day in parts of the U.S. South as a day to honor those who died fighting for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Nine states officially observe Confederate Memorial Day: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.[1]

States and dates observedState Date Remarks

Alabama Fourth Monday in April[2] The surrender of Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston to Union General William Sherman on April 26, 1865.

Arkansas Third Monday in January[3] Robert E. Lee’s birthday (state holiday combined with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day).

Florida April 26[4][5] See remarks at Alabama.

Georgia April 26[6] See remarks at Alabama.

Kentucky June 3[7] Jefferson Davis’s birthday.

Louisiana June 3[6][8] Jefferson Davis’s birthday. Set by state law, Louisiana Revised Statues 1:55

Maryland First Saturday of June

Mississippi Last Monday in April[9] See remarks at Alabama.

North Carolina May 10[6] The death of Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in 1863 and the capture of Confederate president Jefferson Davis in 1865.

Pennsylvania Second Saturday in May Observed by the Pennsylvania Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

South Carolina May 10[10] See remarks at North Carolina.

Tennessee June 3[6] Jefferson Davis’s birthday.

Texas January 19[6] Confederate Heroes Day. In 1973, the Texas legislature combined the previously official state holidays of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis’ birthdays into a single “Confederate Heroes Day” to honor all who had served the Southern Cause. In some years, this date may coincide with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. State offices are partially staffed in recognition of this day.

Texas April 26[6] Confederate Memorial Day. Texas’ official holiday is named Confederate Heroes Day and is celebrated on January 19. However, many local communities and Southern historical organizations within the state also observe a separate “Confederate Memorial Day” on April 26.

Virginia Last Monday in May[6] Same as Memorial Day.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/confederate-memorial-day#ixzz1pUoHIOzW


6 posted on 04/19/2012 5:53:09 PM PDT by duffee (NEWT 2012)
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To: BigReb555
The South still remembers the men and women of the Confederate States of America who came from all races and religions...

Yeah, but they had one big thing in common...they were all democRATs.

7 posted on 04/19/2012 6:02:04 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

Many of my ancestors fought for the South and I am as proud of their service as the ones who fought in WWI up to Iraq. Comparing democrats 145+ years apart only denigrates their memory. The South aint democrat anymore and may be the last outpost of freedom against the leftist scum on both coasts and in the medis.


8 posted on 04/19/2012 6:31:00 PM PDT by ohioman
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

Many of my ancestors fought for the South and I am as proud of their service as the ones who fought in WWI up to Iraq. Comparing democrats 145+ years apart only denigrates their memory. The South aint democrat anymore and may be the last outpost of freedom against the leftist scum on both coasts and in the media.


9 posted on 04/19/2012 6:32:34 PM PDT by ohioman
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

Funny how so called conservatives from Yankee-Land are so stupid about the war of Southern Independence. You live in a sewer so your out look is crappy. We are actually proud of our heritage down here and are unapologetic about it. Go suck on a lobster.


10 posted on 04/19/2012 6:41:13 PM PDT by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: central_va
We are actually proud of our heritage down here

Yeah, well the Klan (the terrorist wing of the democRAT party) was founded by Confederate veterans (democrats)...continued and expanded by segregationist democRATs, to keep black people from voting for Republicans.

It worked! Now it's called the NAACP (more RATs).

By the way, I ain't no kind of "Yankee"...

11 posted on 04/19/2012 7:56:48 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month.)
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To: Psalm 144

Blame it on bad medical care.


12 posted on 04/19/2012 9:59:42 PM PDT by jmacusa (Political correctness is cultural Marxism. I'm not a Marxist.)
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To: central_va

There you have it folks, straight from the sewer itself to all you other sewer-dwellers, North and South. Boy, irony is lost on you ,ain’t it Johnny Reb?


13 posted on 04/19/2012 10:04:21 PM PDT by jmacusa (Political correctness is cultural Marxism. I'm not a Marxist.)
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To: central_va
Funny how so called conservatives from Yankee-Land are so stupid about the war of Southern Independence. You live in a sewer so your out look is crappy

Known as optic-rectal-itis
:)-
14 posted on 04/20/2012 3:58:44 AM PDT by D1X1E
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To: ROCKLOBSTER

You sound like some kind of Yankee to me. BTW name one conservative legislator from New England, or from the north east for that matter.


15 posted on 04/20/2012 4:12:26 AM PDT by catfish1957 (My dream for hope and change is to see the punk POTUS in prison for treason)
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To: jmacusa

Why don’t you take your insults of my confederate ancestors down the hall bubba.......


16 posted on 04/20/2012 4:13:56 AM PDT by catfish1957 (My dream for hope and change is to see the punk POTUS in prison for treason)
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To: catfish1957

I should think identifying oneself as a Confederate insult enough. I’m an American ‘’bubba’’, what are you?


17 posted on 04/20/2012 10:46:51 AM PDT by jmacusa (Political correctness is cultural Marxism. I'm not a Marxist.)
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To: All

Grab my shootin arn, ma. There’s Yankees at the door.

Slavery was the cancer that finally killed the Confederacy. The South got in bed with Satan and paid the price for it. My ancestors fought for the South. My GGGrandfather was killed at Appomattox.


18 posted on 04/20/2012 10:51:16 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you really want to annoy someone, point out something obvious that they are trying hard to ignore)
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To: AppyPappy
One thing that often gets lost in the bluff, bluster and bullspit of these WBTS threads is the acknowledgment of the honor of the soldiers - on both sides. I say disagree however you will with the actions of the politicians and even the generals but leave the soldiers be.

Remember them for their courage, their dedication , and their sacrifice.

19 posted on 04/20/2012 11:10:15 AM PDT by rockrr (Everything is different now...)
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To: jmacusa

Reading comprehension isn’t your strong suit is it? Where in the post did I call myself a confederate dumbass!!!!!!!!


20 posted on 04/20/2012 4:34:56 PM PDT by catfish1957 (My dream for hope and change is to see the punk POTUS in prison for treason)
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