Confederate Heritage Month! 
provided by the:
Georgia Division of The Sons of Confederate Veterans
Confederate History and Heritage Month Committee

Confederate battle flags are placed at the graves of unknown Confederate soldiers buried in LaFayette Cemetery. (Messenger photo/Larry Brooks)

On April 10 Walker County Commissioner Bebe Heiskell signed a proclamation declaring April 26 as Confederate Memorial Day in Walker County.

“We have a lot of descendents of Confederate veterans in our county,” Heiskell said. “This is another example of the rich historical tradition alive in our county.”

Sons of Confederate Veterans spokesman David Espy, commander of the John B. Gordon Camp 599 in LaFayette, said of the proclamation, “We are quiet proud of it. We hope that people might be encouraged to research their family trees for a Confederate ancestor as a result of it. Although many people are unaware of the fact, very few families in our area don’t have a Confederate ancestor. Lots of families simply have no idea of their past.”

The county’s decision to recognize April 26 as Confederate Memorial Day is part of a larger state initiative that has designated the entire month of April as Confederate Memorial Month in Georgia

Commissioner Bebe Heiskell signed the proclamation with representatives of the local SCV organization. From left: Newton Gray, Heiskell, Jack Robertson, and David Espy. (Messenger photo/Larry Brooks)

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“State agencies are closed on April 26 in observance of the holiday,” Heiskell said. “What I have done is recognize the significance of our Confederate history in the county but didn’t declare it a county holiday. It is recognizing the historical significance that is important to me.”

In 1874, the Georgia General Assembly first approved legislation adding a new public holiday that would commemorate Georgia’s role in the Confederacy. The legislation determined the holiday to fall upon “the 26 day of April in each year, commonly known as Memorial Day.

Confederate Memorial Day is observed on April 26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi. It is observed on May 10, the anniversary of Jefferson Davis’ capture by Union troops, in both North Carolina and South Carolina. In Virginia, it is observed on May 30. Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee observe June 3, Jefferson Davis’ birthday, as their day of honoring their Confederate heritage.

April 26 marks the anniversary of the end of the Civil War for Georgia. It was on this day in 1865 that the surrender of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston to Gen. William Sherman in North Carolina became official. Johnston had been in charge of Georgia’s defenses, so this date is observed as the end of the war for Georgia.

Exactly when Georgians began observing April 26 as “Memorial Day” is unclear. According to the language used in the 1874 legislation, April 26 was already being celebrated as an unofficial holiday for state residents.

“This date is significant for most of the families throughout our area,” Espy said. “On the Confederate Memorial in LaFayette there are the names of three African-Americans listed as having fought for the Confederacy. There may have been more, but history proves our Confederate heritage honors both black and white families from our area.”