By Dan Celia for CBN | Image from CBN
Not long after the Civil War ended, about 1,000 freed slaves, members of the U.S. Colored Troops, and some locals organized a ceremony to bury Union troops who died due to horrendous conditions at a prison that was formerly a racetrack, History.com reports. They honored the dead by singing hymns and placing flowers on their graves. An archway over the cemetery was engraved with the words “Martyrs of the Race Course.”
In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May, in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. But Memorial Day didn’t actually become an official federal holiday until 1971. Continue reading…
