This is Confederate Memorial Day Weekend

Monday, April 22, 2024, is Confederate Memorial Day. State offices are closed in remembrance of the soldiers and sailors who served defending the State of Alabama and the Confederate States of America (C.S.A.) during the Civil War of 1861 to 1865. Federal government offices, as well as most banks, businesses, and schools, will be open.

On Saturday, the Alabama Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans are hosting their annual Confederate Memorial Day event at Confederate Memorial Park. The park will open at 9:00 a.m. with the skirmish that afternoon. There will be Civil War reenactors who will skirmish. There will also be speakers, presentations on civilian life in the war era, and tours of the Confederate Museum.

Admission to the park is $2 and there may be an additional cost to visit the museum.

The United Daughters of the Confederacy will hold their annual remembrance on the grounds of the Alabama Capitol, Saturday. There will be an honor guard with muskets and cannon as well as speakers on the Confederacy. The public is invited and admission to the event is free.

Former Governor Lewis E. Parsons estimated that 122,000 Alabamians served in the Confederate military and that 35,000 of those died in the war. The next year Governor Robert M. Patton estimated that 20,000 veterans had returned home permanently disabled, and that the war left 20,000 widows and 60,000 orphans in Alabama.

Some city governments have attacked Confederate memorials in recent years. In response the Alabama Legislature has passed the Memorial Protection Act.

The Confederate park also offers free self-guided tours of the site of Alabama's only Home for Confederate veterans including two cemeteries where 298 veterans rest along with 15 veteran's wives and widows. The site showcases a nature trail which combines an Alabama "Treasure Forest" with features from the Soldiers' Home. A memorial service will be held on Sunday.

The Confederate Memorial Park is a 102-acre historic property of the Alabama Historical Commission and is located at 437 Co Rd 63, Marbury, AL 36051.

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