Lest We Forget

. . . We can keep alive the memory of debt we owe them by dedicating at least one day in the year, by embellishing their humble graves with flowers, therefore we beg the assistance of the press and the ladies throughout the South to help us in the effort to set apart a certain day to be observed, from the Potomac to the Rio Grande and be handed down through time as a religious custom of the country, to wreathe the graves of our martyred dead with flowers. . . Let the soldiers’ graves, for that day at least, be the Southern Mecca, to whose shrine her sorrowing women, like pilgrims, may annually bring their grateful hearts and floral offerings. . .

—Mary Ann Williams, March 11, 1866

With reverence, we honor those who never returned home with a new exhibition in tribute to the men and women of Union County. Throughout the months of June and July, the Murphy USA Exhibition Hall will highlight these individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Nation and the ideals of Freedom for All. They are more then names carved in stone, they are us. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters-family who changed the World around us and in us. The artifacts contained in the exhibit range in a timeline from The War of the Rebellion (Civil) to Afghanistan.

The exhibition is also a call to the community to share their stories of those from their family who gave their all. To contribute to the exhibit, please contact the Gallery of History.

“Lest We Forget” opens on June 10 and continues through August 1, 2025. All exhibitions are free to the public.