Julia Pierpont Day – May 28, 2027

History of Julia Pierpont Day

Julia Pierpont was a resident of Dryden, New York. She was an optimist and an educated activist who vehemently opposed the relocation to a slave state. Julia was married to Francis Pierpont who was elected the Governor of restored West Virginia after the Civil War. When the civil war started, Julia stood by her husband in his efforts and stayed loyal to him. She spent her time caring for children and sewing flags for the Union Soldiers with the women from her neighborhood when her husband had to leave home. Throughout the war, she worked arduously and zealously to ensure the comfort and health of the soldiers.

The Pierponts supported the Union Army and Abraham Lincoln throughout the Civil War. They were stranded in Richmond, Virginia, which was enemy territory. When some of the prior supporters set Pierpont’s library on fire, this became real, since living in the enemy’s territory is usually accompanied by disturbances and perturbations. The Governor pardoned all those confederates who had served in the army and this situation created tension between the Governor and the Unionists.

During this unfavorable situation, Julia noticed that the graves of the fallen appeared to have been neglected and were in poor condition. In 1866, Julia and her friend Miss Woolsey, teaching in the African American schools, decorated the graves of the soldiers buried in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, West Virginia. In addition to Miss Woolsey, her students, and many other students, Julia paraded to the cemetery to help clean up and decorate the graves with flowers. Even though it was exhausting and unpleasant, they completed the mission in just 10 days, which included building a fence to surround the new Union cemetery. On May 1, 1865, 10,000 people (mostly black residents) gathered at the cemetery to hear sermons and sing in honor of the fallen troops.

Julia’s action drew both praise and condemnation. Later on May 30, ‘Decoration Day’ was celebrated all over Richmond and thousands of people gathered to adorn confederate graves. Other early and local Memorial Day or Decoration Day commemorations eventually led to Congress declaring the day a legal holiday. During World War I, the list of honorees was broadened to include everyone who lost their lives while serving in the military. The West Virginia University Public History Program, in collaboration with the Center for Women’s Studies and the Historic Preservation Unit, named Julia Pierpont the creator of the annual “Memorial Day” celebrations in 1987.