Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell will mark Memorial Day with an address at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery, which contains the graves of roughly 15,000 Union soldiers. Over at Mysteries and Conundrums, John Hennessy offers a brief history of the earliest Memorial Day observances, which were organized by the town’s African Americans. This continued until the early 1880s when Confederate veterans accepted an invitation to take part with the stipulation that African Americans be excluded.
It’s worth asking, in light of April’s controversial Confederate History Month declaration, why the governor has chosen to mark this important day in a Union cemetery. I am curious as to what he will say. In fact, I think I may attend. What do you think?