January 19: Confederate Memorial Day in Texas

Céline Arétin, culture, women's issues and environment correspondent, January 19, 2025

Origins of Confederate Memorial Day

Confederate Memorial Day traces its origins to the efforts of Southern women after the Civil War to honor Confederate soldiers killed in battle. The first official ceremony took place on April 26, 1866, in Columbus, Georgia, where the Ladies' Memorial Association organized a day to decorate soldiers' graves. This event influenced other communities, notably in Columbus, Mississippi, where women decorated the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers, in a spirit of reconciliation. In Richmond, Virginia, the Hollywood Cemetery Memorial Association has held events since the late 1860s, including patriotic speeches. Additionally, May 10, the anniversary of the death of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, is particularly significant in Virginia and South Carolina, where military ceremonies recall his role in the war.

States that observe this day

In Alabama, on the fourth Monday of April, ceremonies are held at the Capitol in Montgomery, where participants lay wreaths of flowers. In South Carolina, on May 10, an annual ceremony takes place on the State House Grounds in Columbia, where speeches are given near the Confederate Memorial. In Mississippi, at Beauvoir Cemetery, Jefferson Davis's last home in Biloxi, the laying of Confederate flags on soldiers' graves draws visitors every year. In Texas, during "Confederate Heroes Day" on January 19, gatherings are held near the Confederate War Memorial in Dallas, where groups in period costume hold parades. In Georgia, at Stone Mountain Park, famous for its massive Confederate bas-relief carving, ceremonies include moments of silence in tribute to the generals depicted there. In Florida, although the observance has lost its official status, ceremonies still take place at the Old Capitol cemetery in Tallahassee, where descendants of Confederate soldiers come to pay tribute.

Why does this commemoration remain controversial?

Confederate Memorial Day remains controversial, because it touches on the deep divisions tied to the history of the Civil War and the struggle for civil rights in the United States. In 2017, the city of Charlottesville, Virginia, was the site of violent clashes when nationalist groups protested against the removal of Confederate statues, including that of General Robert E. Lee. In Alabama, the 2017 Memorial Preservation Act bans the removal of Confederate monuments, leading to disputes such as the one surrounding the monument at Linn Park cemetery in Birmingham, where the city ultimately covered the monument despite threats of state sanctions. In Montgomery, Alabama, in 2021, activists organized sit-ins on Confederate Memorial Day on the Capitol steps to protest the use of public funds to maintain Confederate monuments. In Memphis, Tennessee, the statue of Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former Confederate general and the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, was removed in 2018 after years of protests during the annual commemorations.