Fort Pillow Massacre African American Wreath Laying Ceremony:
On Friday, April 12, 2019, at 10 am, W.E. A.L.L. B.E. Group Inc. will be organizing a national wreath-laying ceremony in honor of the African American Soldiers and Civilians along with the white Union soldiers that died at Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864, at the Memphis National Cemetery. This will be a historic event and our way of saying thank you to those who died and fought to end slavery. This will also mark the 155th anniversary of the Massacre, 400 years of the first recorded history of slavery and the 200th anniversary of Memphis.
We will be placing carnations on all 248 graves (109 African Americans and 139 Union soldiers) and a small portion of the over 4,000 unknown soldiers graves. There are 215 unknown graves in Section B and we would like to receive enough donations for at least 52 of them to have a total of 300 graves that will have carnations. The white carnations will be representing the African Americans/Color Troops, the red carnations for the Union soldiers and the blue carnations for the unknown.
The celebration will be one that is fitting for the soldiers and civilians who died and fought to help end slavery. Below is a brief overview:
We will have a motorcade processional going to the cemetery at 9:45 where the Ceremony will start at 10 am leading to the grave sites with a horse representing the "Riderless Horse". The "Riderless Horse" is an ancient symbol of a fallen warrior. In funeral procession, a horse with an empty saddle, saber, and boots reversed in the stirrups. The riderless horse is one of the highest military honors bestowed upon the fallen. We will perform the African ritual libation ceremony with ministers performing the burial services and calling the names of the soldiers, Harriett Tubman will sing a song, color guards with instrumental performance of National Anthem, instrumental performance of "TAP, descendants reading of the proclamation from the state representatives, the placing of 248 white and red carnations on the graves of the African American soldiers and White union soldiers that fought and died at Fort Pillow (109 unknown African American soldiers graves representing the remains of the soldiers that died and 139 white soldiers along with 52 or more unknown soldiers that are located in Section B), and the 21-gun salute in honor of the soldiers.
Descendants: Remembering Fort Pillow - Saturday, April 13, 2019
On Saturday, April 13, 2019, from 10 am -- 4 pm the Descendants of Union Soldiers Who Survived the Massacre at Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864 cordially invite you to "Remembering Fort Pillow ". The event will be held at the Fort Pillow State Historic Park.
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