Confederate Memorial Day in Alabama

Today is a state holiday in Alabama to remember soldiers who died during the War Between the States (1861-1865). In Selma, Confederate Circle at Old Live Oak Cemetery displays monuments, a flag and cannon.  A wreath will also be placed. The cemetery is the final resting place of numerous Confederate soldiers.

Remembering Private Stone

Today is Confederate Memorial Day, a holiday in several southern states which honors the Confederate dead. A memorial service was part of the Battle of Selma events this past weekend.

Along with speeches, a march to Old Live Oak Cemetery and gun salutes, Civil War re-enactors paused to remember Private Henry P. Stone, a Selma native who enlisted in Co. A of the 4th Alabama Infantry when he was only 17. He later died in a bayonet charge during the Battle of Cold Harbor near Richmond, Va.

April 26 is also the anniversary of Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's surrender to Union Gen. William Sherman. Johnston lived in Selma for a while after the war.

Thanks for Christine Weerts for the photograph.

The Melvin Monument

Today is Memorial Day in the USA when we remember all the men and women who died serving our country. This monument located at the Federal Building on Alabama Avenue honors Lt. John T. Melvin, the first American Naval officer killed in World War I. Melvin was a Selma native who gave his life when a torpedo from a German submarine hit the U.S. ship Alcedo in November 1917.