Confederate Memorial Day in Georgia, Monday April 27th

In 1874, the Georgia General Assembly approved legislation adding as a new public holiday “The 26th day of April in each year – commonly known as Memorial Day.” April 26 marks the anniversary of the end of the Civil War for Georgia, for it was on this day in 1865 that Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s surrender to General William T. Sherman at Durham Station, North Carolina became official. Johnston had been in charge of Georgia’s defense, so this day marked the end of the war for Georgia.This year, Georgia’s government officials have prioritized Confederate Memorial Day as a state holiday, along with Christmas Day and Thanksgiving. Georgia state holidays

Exactly when Georgians began commemorating April 26 as Memorial Day is unclear, but the language of the 1874 act clearly recognizes that April 26 was already being celebrated as an unofficial holiday. The day of observance may trace to the women of Columbus, Georgia, who on April 12, 1866 organized a memorial association and began a campaign to have a special day for “paying honor to those who died defending the life, honor and happiness of the Southern women.” Three days later, the Atlanta Ladies’ Memorial Association was organized, and on April 26, 1866, the association held a Confederate memorial observance at Oakland Cemetery.

While Florida would later join Georgia in marking April 26 as Confederate Memorial Day, other states celebrated different dates. By 1916, ten southern states marked June 3 – Jefferson Davis’s birthday – as Confederate Memorial Day. Alabama celebrates the fourth Monday in April, Mississippi celebrates the last Monday in April, while North and South Carolina celebrate May 10 – the anniversary of Jefferson Davis’s capture by Union troops – as Memorial Day.