COLUMBUS, MS (WTVA) Researchers in Columbus, Mississippi will soon search for unmarked graves of Union Soldiers, suspected to be buried at the birthplace of Memorial Day. 

Historians say that in 1866 a group of women decorated the graves of Confederate Soldiers in Friendship Cemetery, which led to the observance of the holiday.

Researchers believe there are bodies of Union Soldiers buried in unmarked graves, citing the cemetery as a major hospital center after the Battle of Shiloh. 

Starting in the fall, a search will begin to find those soldiers.