Slate.com The men who first celebrated Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery had no love for treason.

NPR This story (from our archives) takes place in Friendship Cemetery, a small graveyard in Columbus, Miss — where in 1866 they celebrated what some say was the first Memorial Day. Southern women put flowers on the graves of both Confederate and Union Read more ... soldiers — which inspired Francis Miles Finch's poem, "The Blue and the Grey."

Cloyd Butch Soule Something that ask the question when it comes to this talk about the Confederate Flag when in fact this flag was born in 1861 to 1865 and before it's birth the southern states flew our Stars and Stripes so guess we can say that slavery was started un Read more ... der our nation's Flag first, yet it started when and before we became a country and many different people where classed as slaves. JUST A THOUGH and a little history

Priscilla Elaine Brown I have been researching the origin of Memorial Day, and I have discovered that African Americans were the first to observe Memorial Day starting May 1, 1865. Could you please give recognition to these historical facts? http://blackbluedog.com/2013/0 Read more ... 5/news/did-you-know-memorial-day-was-started-by-ex-slaves/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vgp1jgZnh8&feature=share

Washington Post Did you know Memorial Day started as a day to honor soldiers who died in the Civil War?

National Geographic Channel Memorial Day originated after the Civil War to commemorate Union & Confederate soldiers who died. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it was officially named "Memorial Day" by Federal law in 1967. Today, we honor all those who died while serving in o Read more ... ur country's armed forces.

Sheriff Gerry Ali Restoring Memoriam to Memorial Day [NYT] This Memorial Day, as we head to the lake and the beach, grill and drink, shop and save, lay out in the sun or seek shady places, we must remain cognizant that the holiday didn’t begin as a day of celebrati Read more ... on or commerce but one of solemnity and, indeed, memoriam. As David W. Blight, a professor of history and the director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance and Abolition at Yalewrote in The New York Times in 2011, during the final year of the Civil War, a racetrack was converted to an outdoor prison for Union captives; “at least 257 died of disease and were hastily buried in a mass grave behind the grandstand.” Twitter @sheriffali http://wp.me/p1wG70-J9

The New York Times - The Learning Network Before you head off for the long weekend, take a look at some beautiful photos that honor #MemorialDay and soldiers from around the nation who have given their lives.

NPR Few know the story of the Sultana's demise, or the ensuing rescue effort that included Confederate soldiers saving Union soldiers they might have shot just weeks earlier.

NPR “There’s a tie between Confederate soldiers and the Union black soldiers. Here’s the intersection of the fight for freedom.”