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During the [[American Civil War]], Columbus was a hospital town. Its arsenal manufactured gunpowder, handguns and a few cannons. Because of this, the Union ordered the invasion of Columbus, but was stopped by Confederate General [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]. This is substantiated in the book ''The Battle of West Point: Confederate Triumph at Ellis Bridge'' by John McBride. Many of the casualties from the [[Battle of Shiloh]] were brought to Columbus. Thousands were eventually buried in the town's [[Friendship Cemetery]].{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
One of the hospitals was located at Annunciation Catholic Church, built in 1863 and still operating in the 21st century. The decision of a group of ladies to decorate the Union and Confederate graves with flowers together on April 25, 1866, is an early example of what became known as [[Memorial Day]]. A poet, [[Francis Miles Finch]], read about it in the New York newspapers and commemorated the occasion with the poem "[[Francis Miles Finch|The Blue and the Grey]]".<ref>Fallows, Deborah. [https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/05/a-real-story-of-memorial-day/371497/ "A Real Story of Memorial Day"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170613232901/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/05/a-real-story-of-memorial-day/371497/ |date=2017-06-13 }}, ''The Atlantic'', May 2014</ref> Bellware and Gardiner noted this observance of the holiday in ''The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America'' (2014). They recognized the events in Columbus as the earliest manifestation of an annual spring holiday to decorate the grave of Southern soldiers. While the call was to celebrate on April 26, several newspapers reported that the day was the 25th, in error.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America|last=Bellware|first=Daniel
As a result of Forrest preventing the Union Army from reaching Columbus, its antebellum homes were spared from being burned or destroyed, making its collection second only to [[Natchez, Mississippi|Natchez]] as the most extensive in Mississippi.<ref>John McBride, ''The Battle of West Point: Confederate Triumph at Ellis Bridge'', The History Press, 2013</ref>{{page needed|date=April 2018}} These antebellum homes may be toured during the annual Pilgrimage, in which the Columbus residences open their homes to tourists from around the country.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}
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