08 May 2024

History of Confederate Memorial Day in South Carolina

Another post goes into some detail about the origins of national Memorial Day. But for many years now, some people in Beaufort District have held two commemorations of the Civil War dead: Confederate Memorial Day and Decoration Day. 

No other South Carolina county experienced the Civil War or its aftermath in quite the same way as it unfolded in Beaufort County. No other South Carolina county contributed such large percentages of its total population to the two warring sides. Therefore, it should come as little surprise that commemoration of those who fought in the Civil War should be different here as well. Since Beaufort County raised troops for both the Confederate States and the United States, the dual remembrances commemorated here are rooted in long tradition as shown in this clipping from the Beaufort Gazette 100 years ago. 

Advocacy for a Confederate Memorial Day was started by the Ladies Memorial Association of Columbus, Georgia in 1866. The first official state observance was in 1874 in Georgia. Unofficial commemorations began in South Carolina in 1896 with May 10th as the chosen date. South Carolina chose the death date (May 10, 1863) of Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, Confederate general, to commemorate the service of all Confederate soldiers. It is somewhat ironic that Jefferson Davis, the first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America was captured by Union troops on May 10, 1865. Other southern states have chosen a variety of commemoration dates for a variety of different reasons. 

Official South Carolina Confederate Memorial Day began when the Palmetto State formally accepted Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as official state holiday in 2000 (S.C. 53-5-10). (Factoid: South Carolina was among the last states in the United States to acknowledge Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.) So far state legislation to remove Confederate Memorial Day as an official holiday for state employees has proven unsuccessful. State legislation (H 3436) introduced during the 125th Session of the General Assembly, 2023-2024  to replace Confederate Memorial Day with "Constitution Day" is still in committee as of this writing. By 2024 only South Carolina, Alabama, and Mississippi still observe state holidays in honor of their Confederate Civil War soldiers and sailors, though some sources include Florida, even though it is not a paid public employee holiday nor are there are any official ceremonies and Texas' Heroes Day as commemorations.

Movements to remove Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday gathered momentum throughout the last half of the 20th century as racial and political attitudes changed and large numbers of Northern residents relocated to the sunny South. Some civil rights groups maintain that Confederate Memorial Day is a vestige of "Lost Cause of the Confederacy" philosophy that discounts the role that preservation of slavery played in Secession. Some Southern heritage groups maintain that Confederate Memorial Day is only meant to honor those who died or served while in the Confederate forces during the Civil War. The debate continues. 

We recommend the following sources found in our Research Room if you would like to explore this topic further. 

We have a number of clippings file that might prove useful in your research:
 
VF CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL DAY
VF CONFEDERATE FLAG ISSUE
VF CHARLES JONES COLCOCK CAMP : SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
VF HISTORY - CIVIL WAR, 1861 - 1865 - CONFEDERATE TROOPS
VF GENERAL RICHARD HERON ANDERSON, CAMP 47, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS
VF STEPHEN ELLIOTT CHAPTER, UNITED DAUGHTERS OF THE CONFEDERACY

In addition to broader Confederate related sources, we suggest that you review: 

Records of the Confederate Historian (SCDAH microfilm) 

History of the United Daughters of the Confederacy by Mary B. Poppenheim (1938)

Gallantry Remembered: Our Confederate Soldier Ancestors by the Beaufort Chapter, United Daughters of the Confederacy (2009) 

Confederate Veteran, 1893 - 1932 (magazine) 

South Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans: A Brief History, 1894 - 1991 by Dennis E. Todd (1991) 

Sons of Confederate Veterans, 1894 - 2000 by Dennis E. Todd (2000) 

Minutes of the Annual Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy:  1943, 1945, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1958, 1960

A Guide to Confederate Monuments in South Carolina: Passing the Silent Cup by Robert S. Siegler (1997) 

Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!: South Carolina and the Confederate Flag by K. Michael Prince (2004) 
No Holier Spot of Ground: Confederate Monuments and Cemeteries of South Carolina by Christina Dunn Johnson (2009) 

Civil War Canon: Sites of Confederate Memory in South Carolina by Thomas J. Brown (2015)

Monumental Harm: Reckoning with Jim Crow Era Confederate Monuments by Roger C. Hartley (2021)  

Beaufort Confederate Monument - 1 folder Miscellaneous archives

Hillary Smith Barnwell Research Files, 1987 - 2007 contains materials about the Confederate Flag issue

SOURCES for the post: All links active on 1 May 2024

Jefferson Davis, Wikipedia
"How the Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday became a Holiday" by NCC Staff, National Constitution Center blog, 15 January 2024
"'Confederate Memorial Day' Still Celebrated in These Three States" by  Zoe Strozewski, Newsweek, 10 May 2022
"Friday is Confederate Memorial Day. Why Does Florida Still Celebrate It and What Does it Mean?" by C.A. Bridges, USA Today, 25 April 2024
South Carolina. Code of Laws. Title 53 - Chapter 5. Legal Holidays.
SC House of Representatives Bill No. 3436 introduced by Rep. J.L. Johnson of Richland County
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