Civil War remembrance for Memorial Day 149 years ago (Salisbury, Tar Heel: credit, home)
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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,693,648 times
Reputation: 10256
Quote:
Originally Posted by anifani821
Yes, in my own family, my great great grandmother walked all the way from their farm in Iredell County to Salisbury, with little children in tow, to try to get the Army to release her last remaining son, who was only 15, and was conscripted into service.
Her pleas were to no avail.
Many of the women in my family barely survived the Civil War, between trying to handle raising food on their farms and marauding soldiers who stole and pillaged (and raped, for that matter).
North Carolinians suffered terribly during the Civil War, including having the largest number of casualties of ANY state, and it is very disheartening when folks from other areas come here with incorrect stereotypes about the Civil War and Southerners, in general.
Ani, I got into details of the Civil War while research what happened between the capture of a great great great uncle at Chickamauga & his death from small pox in Danville VA, a few months later. There are diaries etc. online & there is a very consistant respect, by the western soldiers, for the NC troops. At the time that the POWs were shipped from Richmond to Danville, in late 1863, the Danville prison camp was supervised by a NC Colonel & his men. I never saw any comments that were negative about them. The prisoners who lived to write about it respected them.
Ambrose Bierce lived near many of my families on my maternal grandfather's side. He was not in the same regement as any of my relatives, but I have read his Civil War material since he was in the same arrmy (Army of the Ohio/Army of the Cumberland) as the majority. This short story sort of sums up, to me, how people should look at it, & quit the blame & finger-pointing. A Bivouac of the Dead by Ambrose Bierce @ Classic Reader
They were honest and courageous foemen, having little in common with the political madmen who persuaded them to their doom and the literary bearers of false witness in the aftertime. They did not live through the period of honorable strife into the period of vilification--did not pass from the iron age to the brazen--from the era of the sword to that of the tongue and pen. Among them is no member of the Southern Historical Society. Their valor was not the fury of the non-combatant; they have no voice in the thunder of the civilians and the shouting. Not by them are impaired the dignity and infinite pathos of the Lost Cause. Give them, these blameless gentlemen, their rightful part in all the pomp that fills the circuit of the summer hills.
The Southern United States state of North Carolina provided an important source of soldiers, supplies, and war materials to the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The city of Wilmington was among the leading ports of the Confederacy, providing a vital lifeline of trade with England and other countries, especially after the Union blockade choked off most other Confederate ports. Large supplies of weapons, ammunition, accoutrements, and military supplies flowed from Wilmington throughout the South.
flag flown at the civil war museum at Fort Fisher a great place to take your kids to learn about history on your vacation.
This flag does not represent hate.
It represents southern pride of the men who fought for our freedom.
Spoiler
I will honor the blood you shed Great Great Great Grandfather General Riley Leonard
The biggest misconception most people have is that they think the war was about slavery.
Wrong.
It was a fight for rights for the southern states.
What I don't understand is whether Memorial day is a national holiday or not?
As an outsider I thought that it was, and understandably a pretty important one at that , but it appears that there are several what I thought were US holidays that don't seem to be honored by some.
My son is at school on Monday making up for a snow day, as are all of the Iredell/Statesville schools.
Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
23,814 posts, read 34,693,648 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by susan42
What I don't understand is whether Memorial day is a national holiday or not?
As an outsider I thought that it was, and understandably a pretty important one at that , but it appears that there are several what I thought were US holidays that don't seem to be honored by some.
My son is at school on Monday making up for a snow day, as are all of the Iredell/Statesville schools.
So is it a holiday or not?
Memorial Day is a national holiday which used to be called Decoration Day. It was started after the Civil War as a day to decorate the graves of the Union dead. Confederate states had/have their own day to remember their Confederate dead of that war. Decoration Day was expanded to include the dead of subsequent wars. Therefore it also includes the war dead of the whole country, but the just Union dead from the Civil War. Keep in mind that southern men fought on both sides, as did northern men. Eventually the day was renamed Memorial Day.
Using Memorial Day to make up snow days would be up to a district, in any part of the country.
Memorial Day is a national holiday which used to be called Decoration Day. It was started after the Civil War as a day to decorate the graves of the Union dead. Confederate states had/have their own day to remember their Confederate dead of that war. Decoration Day was expanded to include the dead of subsequent wars. Therefore it also includes the war dead of the whole country, but the just Union dead from the Civil War. Keep in mind that southern men fought on both sides, as did northern men. Eventually the day was renamed Memorial Day.
Using Memorial Day to make up snow days would be up to a district, in any part of the country.
So obviously the school system considers that although some kids/teachers may have lost family members at war it's OK to have the schools open.
Seems pointless to have a national holiday for something and then allow this.
Does that mean that the schools could chose to open on Christmas day if they wanted?
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 05-27-2010 at 11:17 PM..
So obviously the school system considers that although some kids/teachers may have lost family members at war it's OK to have the schools open.
Seems pointless to have a national holiday for something and then allow this.
Let's be honest...on most "National Holidays" the majority of people are not actively celebrating the spirit of the day. For most people, Memorial Day is a day off from work / school to fire up the grill and (at least further north of here) go to the opening day of the local swimming pool.
Sad in a way, but that is the reality of the situation.
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 05-27-2010 at 11:15 PM..
So obviously the school system considers that although some kids/teachers may have lost family members at war it's OK to have the schools open.
Seems pointless to have a national holiday for something and then allow this.
Does that mean that the schools could chose to open on Christmas day if they wanted?
Memorial Day is not recognized by NC as a state holiday, so the schools can stay open if they choose. It is a federal holiday, so nonessential federal employees get the day off. There are several federal holidays that are not state holidays (Columbus Day, for instance). I guess if the state of NC stopped recognizing Christmas as a holiday, the schools could stay open. But that's not going to happen.
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 05-27-2010 at 11:15 PM..
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