It is still a state holiday even though it is not officially named “Confederate Memorial Day” in Georgia anymore. But that is not stopping the Marietta Confederate Cemetery Foundation from hosting an event honoring the 3,000 Rebel soldiers buried on its spacious grounds.
On Sunday April 24 at 2:30 pm, descendants of Confederate veterans, history-lovers and the general public are invited to watch the Old Guard of the Gate City Guard post and retire the colors, as well as hear a history lesson by Marietta attorney Martin K. O’Toole. The 28th Georgia Company G Civil War re-enactors are also featured.
Betty L. Hunter, president of Marietta’s Confederate Cemetery board of directors, explains some history and why Confederate flags are displayed:
“The Confederate flag was not allowed to fly here until after the Spanish-American War. Our southern soldiers fought bravely shoulder to shoulder with the men from the north. In fact, there were more southerners in that battle than northerners. The federal government realized that these men would honor the United States. So it was after this war that the Confederate flag flew in the Marietta Cemetery. Mattie Harris Lyon had her son write a letter to a senator asking if it could be flown here. The response was, ‘Tell her to fly her flag. The federal government has no jurisdiction over a Confederate Cemetery.’ Mattie wanted to have this flag flown over these young men who had fought so valiantly.” “It is not or has not ever been a symbol of hatred and racism in our cemetery,” she says. “I am appalled when I see that some disrespectful person pulls out our flag and uses it as a symbol of hatred. They degrade these soldiers who went to war to protect their homeland.”
