Confederate legacy lives on in ceremony

Published 11:25 pm Saturday, April 26, 2008

The small group gathered at the West Hill Cemetery to commemorate Confederate Memorial Day crossed all gender and age boundaries.

A 3-year-old girl placed a flower in a vase during the traditional rose ceremony honoring the states of the confederacy.

Gray-haired members of Dalton’s VFW Post 112 stood at attention.

A young boy played in the grass near the tombstones and Confederate flags that marked the 421 unknown Confederate soldiers, the four known Confederate soldiers and the four unknown Federal soldiers buried there.

And when it was asked if there were sons or daughters of Confederate veterans, no one raised their hands. Those with clear memories of those who fought in the war have passed on in the 143 years since the Civil War ended.

The group gathered at West Hill Cemetery Saturday wanted to honor those who fought in the most violent war fought on American soil and to keep their legacy alive. The event was sponsored by the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

Mary Holland, the guest speaker, talked about Decoration Day, when flowers were placed on the graves of soldiers. On each of the graves, a single confederate flag blew in the breeze.

As much as Saturday was about remembering the dead who fought in the Civil War, the day was also about honoring those who preserve their memories.

Melissa Burchfield, a daughter of a Vietnam veteran and a descendant of a Civil War solider, was given the Southern Cross of Military Service. Barbara Byers of Dalton, a daughter of a World War II veteran and a great-granddaughter of a North Carolina infantry man who fought for the Confederacy, also received the Cross.

Holland was awarded the Bryan M. Thompson award.