The 30th of May was the day that black organizations set aside to honor their Civil War soldiers that had either fallen in battle or died a natural death.

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton created a union cemetery in 1866 to rebury these black Civil War soldiers in an honorable fashion. Soldiers — from near the levee in Vidalia, the Forks of the Road and other sites where our soldiers were buried in shallow graves — were removed and put in their honorable place in the newly built cemetery.

I remember when I was a child in the 50s and 60s my father used to take my grand and great-grand mothers to the cemetery to honor James Lucas, who was a sailor in the Union Navy. There were many more visiting Civil War graves from 1866 to that time.

I can remember the soldiers marching and beating drums. Women dressed in white and black and all looked very serious. Once they made it to the cemetery, each family would spread out and go to their respective grave sites. A wreath was placed on the graves of the unknown soldiers. Most of the unknown soldiers were those that died in the battles in Vidalia against Walkers Texas Brigade.

The patriotic feeling that every person had on their faces is something I’ll never forget. I have that feeling every 30th of May. From the time of the building of the cemetery there were no wars for many, many years. So, who was honored in it?

Now we create new days. We even celebrated Memorial Day in the confederate cemetery behind St. Mary. Confederates have their own memorial day.

The 30th of May is the Union Memorial Day in Natchez and Vidalia. Those soldiers from Vidalia have marched to the Union Cemetery in Natchez since 1866. Most still had their old union uniforms. Most had their uniforms from Natchez, Fayette, Franklin County and Wilkinson County. At some time they all participated at one time or another.

The story of the 30th of May goes a long way back. Most of these men that participated in the war of freedom were subjected to all kinds of Jim Crow treatments and persecutions. All of the Civil War soldiers were forgotten. Everybody was happy. The whole meaning of Memorial Day changed its tune to World War I, II, Vietnam, Korea and others.

I will continue my beliefs and my knowledge of the reality of the founding of the 30th of May in 1866 and the true soldiers in which it was meant. No ones values are important if a person from the opposite side can change my values.

If I can respect the confederates for celebrating their ancestors. Give us the same respect to celebrate ours. The story about the first memorial day in Natchez — before the birth of the Memorial Day we celebrate now — should be at least told to our children.

I would never celebrate confederate memorial day. Not because of the color of their uniforms, or who the soldiers were, but because of their values.

The 30th of May celebrated the nation’s values — the values of the United States of America.

Andrew Robinson is a Natchez resident.