The John Blue Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy will sponsor Confederate Memorial Day at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 17, at Old Bethesda Church and cemetery in Aberdeen.

The Moore County Scotch Rifleman Camp 2001 and the John A. Lisk Camp of the Montgomery County Sons of the Confederate Veterans will participate with the flag raising and cannon. Flags and wreaths will be placed on the graves of the 32 Confederate and Union veterans buried there.

Dr. Dawson Carr, who retired after 28 years with Sandhills Community College, will be the guest speaker. Carr is originally from Stedman and has been a resident of Moore County since 1967. He earned bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from UNC Chapel Hill.

Carr is the author of "Gray Phantoms of the Cape Fear: Running the Civil War Blockade and "The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: Sentinel of the Shoals." His talk will focus on the running of the Civil War blockade into and out of Wilmington.

Dinner on the grounds will follow.