There’s no question that Memorial Day spurred from the Civil War, but could the holiday have started right here in Mississippi? According to officials in Columbus, it’s the city that sparked the national tradition of remembrance.
“Columbus holds a unique and meaningful place in American history as the city that inspired Memorial Day,” said Frances Glenn, tourism director for the Columbus-Lowndes County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Glenn recounted a moment in history, in April 1866, in which a group of local women gathered at Friendship Cemetery in Columbus after the Civil War had ended.
With Columbus being located next to a rail line, the easy access resulted in it being one of the major hospital towns during the war. By the time gunfire ceased, over 2,500 Confederate soldiers and 32 Union soldiers were buried inside the cemetery. The women decided to pay homage to both sides by decorating the graves of all who fought with flowers, marking a “groundbreaking act of unity and healing that inspired the creation of Memorial Day as a national observance.”
“We are proud to carry this legacy of unity, remembrance, and gratitude,” Glenn said.
While multiple states, from Mississippi to Georgia to Pennsylvania to New York, claim inspiration behind Memorial Day, Congress decided in 1966 to award credit to Waterloo, N.Y., for being the first to hold a formal observance of the holiday.
Former state lawmaker and historian Dr. Sidney Bondurant, like Glenn, has argued for years in favor of Mississippi’s role in Memorial Day being the most influential.
“Of course, Congress gets into the act, and they decided to award it to Waterloo. Later, historians said that the claims for Waterloo were almost certainly bogus,” Bondurant said before last year’s event, noting that Waterloo’s first observance came in 1868 but was incorrectly remembered as happening in 1866.
“I personally feel it ought to belong to Columbus, Mississippi,” he continued.
In 2010, President Barack Obama stated in his Memorial Day address that Columbus is where the holiday began, further validating the Mississippi city’s claims to being the inspiration. Still, Congress has not altered its designation of Waterloo being the birthplace of Memorial Day.
With or without full credit from the federal level, Columbus will continue to celebrate Memorial Day like it’s its own this Monday, May 26. This year’s slate of events includes a 5k run at Friendship Cemetery beginning at 8 a.m., followed by a flag placement ceremony at 9 a.m. and a memorial program at 10 a.m. at the very graves where the local women gathered to pay their respects to both Confederate and Union soldiers. Afterward, live music and food trucks will be available to enjoy at Riverwalk Stage from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.
“We invite everyone to join us in honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice – and to experience the rich history that makes Columbus so special,” Glenn concluded.
