Memorial Day…the beginning…

Interesting story and picture..

dailyoddsandends

Memorial Day was started by former slaves on May, 1, 1865 in Charleston, SC to honor 257 dead Union Soldiers who had been buried in a mass grave in a Confederate prison camp. They dug up the bodies and worked for 2 weeks to give them a proper burial as gratitude for fighting for their freedom. They then held a parade of 10,000 people led by 2,800 Black children where they marched, sang and celebrated.

Thanks to Abstrakt Goldsmith for this nugget of history that most of us never learned in school.

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SS Central America and the Panic of 1857. Gold hunters to dive ship wreck.

When the SS Central America sank on Sept. 12, 1857, it was carrying gold ingots and freshly minted U.S. $20 Double Eagle coins. New York banks were awaiting the shipment; the size of the loss was so large that it contributed to the Panic of 1857 and the economy was weakened until after the civil war. Gold hunters to dive ship wreck.