Memorial Day

News Archive - Decoration Day, Memorial Day at Manassas Battlefield Park, VA.

This year Memorial day was celebrated and commemorated the with the tradition of raising the American Flag on the grounds of Groveton Confederate Cemetery which was founded in 1862. Today's event attracted a lulling crowd of Civil War buffs, retired military personnel, families, and media. The civil war reenactment service started with the raising of the American flag and was followed by the preamble of the United States Constitution.

Sargent Masher of the 42nd Infantry Volunteer reenactment provided the crowd the traditional twenty-one gun musket gun salute honoring the Civil war deceased in addition to remembering the war veterans of previous world wars and the current war. Following the traditional gun salute, he led the crowd with a moment of silence and prayer written by Saint Ignatius Loyala, a Basque Soldier who battled the French aggression in the 1500s.

The Decoration or Memorial day was officially recognized by the United States Government and declared an official holiday in 1904 to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers. There are roughly between 266 to 500 soldiers buried on this mound. History records showed that the Benson L. Pridemore preserved the ground by paying fifty cents for an internment. In addition, records showed that confederate soldiers buried union soldiers out of respect for the deceased.

In closing, the crowd was led to the traditional cannon gun salute using blanked ten pound powdered cannon balls. The 14th Brooklyn Volunteer reenactment provided the closing cannon firing service. The cannon blast produced a thundering and deafening sound which could be heard across what was once the fiercest battlefields in North America and today, laid silent on the the meadows of Manassas Battlefield Park.

 

Date Published: 2007-06-06 06:00:00

Section: Holidays 2007, Photos: Civil War Pics03, Civil War Pics02, Civil War Pics,