Confederate Memorial Day 2026 in the United States

Confederate Memorial Day is a state holiday in some states in the United States. It gives people a chance to honor and remember the Confederate soldiers who died or were wounded during the American Civil War during the 1860s.

Is Confederate Memorial Day a Public Holiday?

Observe Confederate Memorial Day

A range of events are organized on and around Confederate Memorial Day. The Main Library of the University of Georgia marks the occasion by publicly displaying the original Constitution of the Confederate States of America.

Other observances include:

• Ceremonies to place flags and wreaths on the graves of Confederate soldiers and memorials to them.
• Church services.
• Re-enactments, in historical costume, of battles and events from the Civil War.
• Displays of Civil War relics.

However, this type of observance is controversial, as some see it as glorifying a culture and way of life that could only exist because of the work carried out by slaves.

Public Life

Confederate Memorial Day is a state holiday in Alabama, Florida, and Georgia on the fourth Monday in April. In Mississippi it is observed on the last Monday in April. In South Carolina and North Carolina it falls on May 10.

Confederate Memorial Day is known as Confederate Heroes' Day in Texas. It is held on January 19 each year. Only one day off is given to workers if it coincides with Martin Luther King Day.

In these areas, state offices are generally closed. However, Confederate Memorial Day is not a federal holiday and federal offices may be open. Some schools in states including Georgia are also open. Stores and other businesses may be open or closed according to local custom. Public transit services may operate on their normal or reduced schedules. There may be some minor road closures or congestion around war memorials or important battlegrounds.

About Confederate Memorial Day

Between 1861 and 1865, there was a war between the Union and the Confederate States of America. Before the war, slavery had largely disappeared from the northern states, but remained viable in the south. As a result, two very different ways of life arose in these sections, according to the US Department of the Interior’s National Park Service. Compromises regarding slavery, especially its extension to the new western territories, became more difficult to achieve. Social, political, and economic power was at stake for both the north and the south.

The divisions began in 1860 when Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery, was elected as president of the United States. Seven of the eleven states in the south who declared their secession from the United States did so before Lincoln took office. Southern states maintained various concerns regarding political ideals, property and homes, protection for their families, and economic loss.

The actual war started on April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The last cease-fire was signed at Fort Towson, Oklahoma, on June 23, 1865, although the naval forces on the CSS Shenandoah did not surrender until November 4, 1865 in Liverpool, Great Britain. It is estimated that more than 600,000 soldiers died during the American Civil War and about 260,000 of these were Confederates. In addition, an unknown number of civilians died in the hostilities.

Those who died fighting for the Confederate States during the American Civil War are remembered on other dates in some states. In Arkansas and Texas, there are joint celebrations of the birthdays of General Robert E. Lee, a commander in the Confederate army, and Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American civil rights leader, on the third Monday in January. In Texas, this is currently known as Confederate Heroes' Day. In Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee, the birthday of Jefferson Davis, the only President of the Confederate States of America, on June 3, 1808, is observed.

In North and South Carolina, May 10 marks the anniversaries of the death of Confederate General Thomas Jonathan 'Stonewall' Jackson in 1863 and the capture of Jefferson Davis in 1865. In Pennsylvania, the organization known as the Sons of Confederate Veterans commemorates those who died while fighting for the Confederates. In Virginia, the lives of Confederate soldiers are honored on Memorial Day on the last Monday in May. Confederate Memorial Day was first observed in a number of areas in or just after 1866.

While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know.