Weekly Reflection: A Nearly Forgotten Foundation of Memorial Day

May 31, 2023

On Monday of this week, our nation observed Memorial Day, a time to honor the lives of those who died in our country’s wars. There are several stories about the origin of Memorial Day, most of which go back to some form of “Decoration Day” when flowers were placed on the graves of fallen soldiers from the Civil War. Both the North and the South claim to have started this tradition in the years immediately following the war. Yet the earliest known foundation of Memorial Day was nearly forgotten for over a century. It took place on May 1, 1865 not even a month after Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. Why was it overlooked and almost forgotten? The answer is that it was created by newly freed Black people in Charleston, SC. The former Washington Racecourse had been converted into a prison for Union soldiers. Before the Confederates abandoned Charleston, around 270 Union soldiers died from the horrific prison conditions and were hastily buried in a mass grave. To honor those fallen soldiers, members of the Black community dug up the mass grave and created a cemetery with individual graves that had wooden markers. The first picture posted above shows that cemetery.

On May 1, 1865 Black leaders put together a day long event to honor those they called “The Martyrs of the Racecourse.” There was a huge parade led by Black children from the newly formed schools and including Black Union soldiers. Several Black preachers gave speeches, and the graves of the Union soldiers were decorated with flowers. However, this historic and sacred foundation of Memorial Day did not fit the narrative of the Lost Cause crafted by groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy and the Sons of Confederate Veterans. As Reconstruction came to an end in the late 1870’s, the events of May 1, 1865 were not included in the historic record. It was not until the 1990’s, that the historian David Blight uncovered records of that day in Charleston. This is a vivid example of both the contributions of Black people to our nation’s history and the way those contributions have been overlooked or minimized. From now on, the story of Memorial Day is even more meaningful by including the story of “The Martyrs of the Racecourse.”

The two videos posted below provide more details about this part of our history including insights from David Blight who helped to recover this foundation of Memorial Day.