All Souls Day

Celebrated the 4th Monday in May

The South’s All Souls Day

In Columbus, Georgia, on April 9, 1866, the first anniversary of General Lee’s surrender, the ladies there did their honors, Mrs. Lizzie Rutherford Ellis of Columbus, Georgia, is credited for the first Confederate Memorial Day, along with Mrs. Anne Williams for her March 12, 1866, letter to the editor in the Columbus newspaper proposing the setting aside of April 26 annually as the observance of the South’s “All Soul’s Day”. Wikipedia

Johnny Reb

When I saw this confederate soldiers name the term "Johnny Reb" came to mind. What does it really mean? Hmmm. I turned to my friend, Google, to see what I could find.

IOOF Cemetery

Wikipedia told me this.
is the national personification of the Southern states of the United States. The latter part of his name is derived from Rebellion. Patriots used Johnny Reb and his Union counterpart Billy Yank to symbolize the lost souls in the American Civil War of the 1860s.

Johnny Reb is usually pictured in gray wool uniform that included the confederate flag. Johnny Reb was typically a young poor uneducated white male who had not yet attained 15 years of age.

Definitions.net told me this:
Johnny' was applied as a nickname for Confederate soldiers by the Federal soldiers in the American Civil War; `greyback' derived from their grey Confederate uniforms

Dedication of Confederate Mound

This gives the time-frame for the dedication of the Confederate monument in the Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago, IL

Hutchinson News

9/15/1893

Here is a link to the cemetery web site. Half way down on the right is a link to a photo gallery. You can see the monument there.

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You can also see a picture on the Wikipedia page for Oak Woods.

Confederate soldier gets a headstone

Yesterday I had the opportunity to be present when John A. Beasley received a headstone for his unmarked grave. Since 1912 he has rested at Eastside Cemetery in Hutchinson, KS. Regardless of Union or Confederate all deserve to be remembered. His distant cousin, James Converse, has shared photos and family information with me that I will use to write an article for our genealogical society quarterly. Rest in peace, John.

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James M. Converse [L] - distant cousin of John A. Beasley

Heath Roland [R]