| Confederate Memorial Day Honors Those Who Served |
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Confederate Memorial Day began in the spring of 1866, when the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia passed a resolution to set aside one day annually to memorialize the Confederate dead. The first day selected was April 26 because that was the date of Confederate General Johnston’s final surrender to Union General Sherman at Bennett Place, N. C. (Durham). That marked the official end of the Civil War. It was this event that influenced and launched the Memorial Day holiday which is currently observed in the entire United States. General John A. Logan was the commander in chief of the Union Civil War Veterans Fraternity. General Logan said: “it was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the south in perpetuating the memory of their friends who had died for the cause they thought was just and right.” North Carolina now honors the Confederate dead on May 10. It was on Saturday, that the annual Confederate memorial was carried out in front of the permanent statue on the Court Square Uptown Shelby. The brief ceremony concluded with a rendition of “Dixie” and a community sing-a-long of all those in attendance. The song was a favorite of President Lincoln who had it played at some of his political rallies and at the announcement of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender. The memorial in Shelby proudly states: “Lest We Forget”. –M. A. Andrews
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