To those that went before us... To secure and defend our Freedom... To those who paid the ultimate sacrifice... To those that gave the last breath in valor. WE SALUTE YOU.
In Charleston, South Carolina in 1865 Freedmen (freed slaves) celebrated at the Washington Race Course (today the location of Hampton Park). The site had been used as a temporary Confederate prison camp for captured Union soldiers in 1865, as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died there. Immediately after the cessation of hostilities, Freedmen exhumed the bodies from the mass grave and reinterred them properly with individual graves. They built a fence around the graveyard with an entry arch and declared it a Union graveyard. On May 1, 1865, a crowd of up to ten thousand, mainly black residents, including 2800 children, proceeded to the location for events that included sermons, singing, and a picnic on the grounds, thereby creating the first Decoration Day. It was the nation's first Memorial Day.
In Charleston, South Carolina in 1865 Freedmen (freed slaves) celebrated at the Washington Race Course (today the location of Hampton Park). The site had been used as a temporary Confederate prison camp for captured Union soldiers in 1865, as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died there. Immediately after the cessation of hostilities, Freedmen exhumed the bodies from the mass grave and reinterred them properly with individual graves. They built a fence around the graveyard with an entry arch and declared it a Union graveyard. On May 1, 1865, a crowd of up to ten thousand, mainly black residents, including 2800 children, proceeded to the location for events that included sermons, singing, and a picnic on the grounds, thereby creating the first Decoration Day. It was the nation's first Memorial Day.
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Thank you for the history! I hope to go back and see the Wall again in D.C. Saw it about 10 years ago and I didn't have a camera at the time. The momentos and the people visiting - it was overwhelming emotionally.
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, appreciate a little bit of the history behind the day. The photos are just wonderful. We owe those who died fighting to protect our freedom so much more than just one day a year to remember them.
ReplyDeleteFrom one Vet to another. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteScott
U.S. Army (Retired)
Thank you Jason!
ReplyDelete['ô ] Avery
Beautifully done.
ReplyDeleteWhat the vets have done for me and this country leaves me speechless...I owe way more than I will ever be able to pay..THANK YOU!!!
ReplyDeleteTHERE IS A MAN COMMENTING ON THE FACEBOOK POW/MIA PAGE ABOUT THE FLAG AND HE DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IN THE WORLD HE IS EVEN TALKING ABOUT!!! FOR ONE HE WOULD NOT HAVE THE FREEDOM EVERYONE HAS TODAY AND MOST OF ALL HE WOULD NOT GO TO A VETERANS CLUB OR JUST WALK INTO A NATIONAL GAURD UNIT AND SAY HALF OF THE THINGS OR SH- - HE IS SAYING!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe live a life of freedom paid for by the blood of fellow Americans.
ReplyDelete