While there is a historical debate over where and when the very first observation of Memorial Day took place, one of the earliest recorded observations of the holiday indisputably took place in Charleston, South Carolina, in the closing days of the Civil War.
On May 1, 1865, the freed people of Charleston gathered at the old racetrack to decorate the graves of 257 Union prisoners of war who had been hastily buried by the retreating Confederate army.
The largely African American crowd watched the men of the 35th and 104th United States Colored Troops (USCT), along with the men of the famed 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, perform drills before listening to speeches addressing the meaning of the long and bloody war. When the ceremonies were finished, the crowd dispersed to lay flowers on the graves of the men who had died fighting for Union and for liberty.
The 55th Massachusetts Colored Regiment singing in the streets of Charleston S.C. on Feb. 21, 1865. Union soldiers who advanced into Charleston, most of whom were members of the 21st United States Colored Infantry, were welcomed by former slaves celebrating their freedom.