Decoration Day,” traditionally and culturally known in and observed by the American African community as the  “30th of May” in the Natchez and Vidalia region was created in 1968 to honor the United States Civil War’s “Grand Army of the Republic” (GAR) military men and women veterans.

Decoration Day was enacted by the U.S. Congress and set in effect May 30, 1868.

Also, as a separate memorial day in 1868, Confederate Memorial Day got its start.

The name for the holiday gradually changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, and was declared the official name by federal law in1967. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved Memorial Day to a specified Monday creating a three-day weekend.

The Grand Army of the Republic was founded on April 6, 1866, at Decatur, Ill., by former Union army surgeon Benjamin Franklin Stephenson,

Its purpose was fraternity, charity and loyalty, and its basic unit was the local post or lodge.

Membership was open to any honorably discharged Union veteran. However in many former Confederate states, black Union veterans had separate posts or lodges from those of white Union veterans and or did not have a post at all.

Since Decoration Day and the date was changed from May 30 annually to Memorial Day on the fourth Monday in May nationally, in Mississippi and Louisiana, especially in the Natchez-Vidalia region, memory of the Union Civil War veteran soldiers, particularly the African Americans, has been overcome by select-amnesia-forget-us and select-amnesia-don’t-want-us-to-remember.

The at least 133 some-years-old tradition of the African American Grand Army of the Republic Union Black Civil War veterans of Parson Brownlow Post No. 23, organized Nov. 26, 1892, in Vidalia, crossing the Mississippi River at Vidalia to be joined by those of Natchez Brigadier General Thomas E. Ransom No. 16 Post, organized in late 1891, and Major General John A. Logan No. 24 GAR Post, organized Dec. 2, 1892, and marching to the Natchez National Cemetery continues yearly as it happened on May 25, 2015.

However, on Memorial Day you do not visibly see any public evidence, presentation and interpretation specifically honoring the several thousand United States black and white Civil War soldiers buried in the Natchez National Cemetery, who were the reason the cemetery was first created.

Since the year 2000, Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society Inc. in Natchez has made limited efforts to keep alive the memory of the Grand Army of the Republic Decoration Day/30th of May honoring of the black and white Union Veterans of United States Civil War buried in the Natchez National Cemetery.

At 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, the “30th of May,” 2015 as I have done each 30th of May, I drove the traditional Natchez route normally walked out to the Natchez National Cemetery on now Memorial Day and stopped first in Section D. Here, fresh rosemary was placed on the gravestones of a soldier of the Ohio Light Artillery, Frederick Banks Co. G of 64th U.S. Colored Troops (USCT), Evans Jones 63rd USCT, a soldier of 1st Mississippi Marine Brigade and an Unknown Soldier; In Section E Green Brody of the 55th USCT and grave number 650 an Unknown Soldier; In Section G where a great number of USCT are buried, Sidney Hunt Co. D 58th USCT, Austin Williams Co. H 58th USCT, Sancho Laid Co. A 5th U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery, Wilson Brown Union Navy Medal of Honor recipient, Thomas Geary Co. F 113th USCT, Corporal Isaac Turner and an Unknown Soldier and in Section A Edwant Turner U. S. Colored Cavalry, Theodore Lumber, William Rochester Co I 6th U. S. Colored Heavy Artillery and an Unknown Soldier.

The 5th and 6th U.S. Colored Artillery were the same, just a change in designation.

William Rochester was the GAR Department of Louisiana and Mississippi Commander who represented the local posts at National Encampments Starting as vice commander in 1913.

Rosemary was the standard herbal plant these veterans placed on their comrades’ graves to show memory and honor.

On each 30th of May, making an unforgotten offering of placement of rosemary on select graves representative of all the Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery continues the 1868 Grand Army of the Republic ritual in general and ritual of the local Vidalia and Natchez GAR Post when organized in 1891 and 1892 respectfully.

The USCT are especially remembered, honored and thanked for their heroic deeds toward the elimination of chattel slavery, saving the Union of the United States and making it possible for Juneteenth and 13th, 14th and 15th Constitutional Amendment 19th Century Civil Rights.

“Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day; Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.” Thus, those who died while serving certainly were Civil War military members.

 

Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C.M. Boxley is active with Friends of Forks of the Road Society Inc.