Why Do We Commemorate Memorial Day?-- Part 1: It's a Civil War Thing

From May 27, 2022, USA Today "Why do we observe  Memorial Day?  Here's the true history of the holiday" by Camille Fine.

It was originally called Decoration Day and honors all soldiers who have died during service to the nation.

It was declared a  national holiday  through an Act of Congress in 1971, and its roots date back to the Civil War era.

The origins can be traced back to local observances for soldiers with neglected gravesites from the Civil War.

Some historians believe the very first observance  of what would become our Memorial Day took place in Charleston, South Carolina, at the site of a horse racing track that Confederates had turned into a prison for captured Union troops.  Blacks in the city organized a burial of deceased prisoners and built a fence around the site.

Then, on May 1, 1865,  they held an event, including a parade including Blacks who had served as soldiers in the Union Army, spiritual readings and songs, and picnicking.  A commemorative marker was erected there in 1810.

--Old Secesh