05/25/2026
This photograph was taken in 1898 or 1899 to honor soldiers of past wars.
The newspaper caption reads:
"Flat Rock Memorial Day 1898 - This tableau shows Freddy Mathews representing the Spanish American War; Ben Rice, Civil War; Eddie Upham, Revolutionary War; Ada Upham Adams, Columbia. Mrs. E.W. Upham wrote from Birmingham, in part: 'Your editor is going to ask what year the picture was taken. I would guess 1898 or '99. I was born in 1886 and I imagine I was around 12 at the time. The Decoration Day exercises were always held at the G.A.R. Hall, as was fit and proper. As I recall it, it was a tableau. The group placed in position on a darkened state, the magnesium flares readied. The curtain was then raised, the flares ignited as we in the tableau held our positions and no doubt our breath. I question the 1898 date. That was the year of the Spanish American War. Of course it is possible that the wave of patriotism sweeping the country may have prompted the idea.'"
