First Memorial Day in U.S. Plaque in Charleston, S.C.

From the same article as the previous four blog entries on Memorial Day.

FIRST MEMORIAL DAY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, May 1, 1865.

At the time of the Civil War, Hampton Park was the site of the Hampton Racecourse, which was owned by the South Carolina Jockey Club and was one of the most famous racetracks  of the antebellum  South.  In late  1864, this site became a large open-air prison for thousands of Union troops evacuated from Andersonville, GA. prison in advance of Sherman's March to the Sea.

Before Charleston fell in February 1865, several hundred of the prisoners died and were buried in mass graves.  In an effort led by African-American churches in April 1865, the dead were reinterred in orderly graves enclosed by a picket fence.  Over the gate was written: "Martyrs of the Racecourse."

In May 1, 1865, a parade in honor of the prisoners of war who died here took place with ten thousand participants, according to contemporary sources.  Nearly 3,000 were school children from the new Freedman's Bureau Schools.

The children led the parade, carrying armloads of flowers  and singing patriotic songs.  They were followed by  women's organizations, church leaders, Unionists, recently emancipated  slaves and Union troops, including members of the 54th Massachusetts.

The soldiers were late buried at Beaufort and Florence National Cemeteries or in their hometowns.  

Annual events to honor the dead of both sides of the Civil War eventually became known as Memorial Day.  The event that occurred in what is now Hampton Park is acknowledged by most historians to be  the first Memorial Day  in the United States of America.

--Old Secesh