Lee-Jackson Day in Virginia in 2024

Lee-Jackson Day in Virginia in 2024
Sunrise at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Image by skeeze , via Pixabay
  How long until Lee-Jackson Day?
There are no upcoming dates for this event
  Dates of Lee-Jackson Day in Virginia
2020 Fri, Jan 17Government Holiday
2019 Fri, Jan 18Government Holiday
2018 Fri, Jan 12Government Holiday
2017 Fri, Jan 13Government Holiday
2016 Fri, Jan 15Government Holiday
  Summary

Marked the birthdays of the Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson.

Lee-Jackson Day has been repealed by legislation passed in April 2020. It will be replaced by Election Day.

When is Lee-Jackson Day?

Lee-Jackson Day was a State Holiday in the Commonwealth of Virginia and is observed on the Friday before the third Monday in January - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

History of Lee-Jackson Day

This holiday is celebrated on the birthdays of two Confederate generals from Virginia, Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19th 1807 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, to Major General Henry Lee III, Governor of Virginia, and his second wife, Anne Hill Carter.

Lee was a career soldier, who rose through the ranks after West Point to be the commander of the Confederate States Army. He commanded the Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War from 1862 until his surrender in 1865. Lee died from pneumonia in October 1870.

Thomas Jackson was born on January 21st 1824 in Clarksburg, Virginia to Julia Beckwith Jackson and Jonathan Jackson, an attorney.

Jackson is recognized as one of the most skilful tacticians of the Civil War, earning the name "Stonewall" after his stand at the First Battle of Bull Run in 1861. Jackson died in May 1863 from pneumonia which had set in after he had been shot accidentally by one of his own men.

A holiday on January 19th to honour Lee on the anniversary of his birthday was established in 1889. Jackson was added to the holiday in 1904.

In 1983, the holiday was merged with the new federal holiday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as Lee–Jackson–King Day in Virginia. This merger lasted until 2000, when Lee-Jackson Day was moved to the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.


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