It is a matter of history that Mrs. Chas. J. Williams, of Columbus, Ga.,instituted thebeautiful custom of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers, a customwhich has beenadopted throughout the United States. Mrs. Williams was the daughter ofMaj. JohnHoward, of Milledgeville, Ga., and was a superior woman. She married Maj.C. J. Williamson his return from the Mexican War. As colonel of the First GeorgiaRegulars, of theArmy in Virginia, he contracted disease, from which he died in 1862, andwas buried inColumbus, Ca. Mrs. Williams and her little girl visited his grave every day, and oftencomfortedthemselves by wreathing it with flowers. While the mother sat abstractlythinking of theloved and lost one, the little one would pluck the weeds from the unmarkedsoldiers'graves near her fathers and cover them with flowers, calling them hersoldiers' graves. After a short time the dear little girl was summoned by the angels to joinher father.The sorely bereaved mother then took charge of these unknown graves for thechild'ssake, and as she cared for them thought of the thousands of patriot gravesthroughoutthe South, far away from home and kindred, and in this way the plan wassuggested to herof setting apart one day in each year, that love might pay tribute to valorthroughoutthe Southern States. In March 1866, she addressed a communication to theColumbus Times,an extract of which I give: "We beg the assistance of the press and the ladies throughout the South toaid us in theeffort to set apart a certain day to be observed from the Potomac to theRio Grande, andto be handed down through time as a religious custom of the South, towreathe the gravesof our martyred dead with flowers, and we propose the 26th day of April asthe day." She then wrote to the Soldiers' Aid Societies in every Southern State, andthey readilyresponded and reorganized under the name of Memorial Associations. Shelived long enoughto see her plan adopted all over the South, and in 1868 throughout theUnited States.Mrs. Williams died April 15, 1874, and was buried with military honors. Oneachreturning Memorial Day the Columbus military march around her grave, andeach deposits afloral offering. The Legislature of Georgia, in 1866, set apart the 26th day of April as alegal holidayin obedience to her request. Contributed by Marion D. Lambert - scvblue@ix.netcom.com 1st. Lt. Cmdr., John T. Lesley Camp 1282 Sons of Confederate Veterans

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