On May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War came to an end, the leader of a group of Union veterans known as the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) founded Decoration Day as a day for the country to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers. It should be May 30, according to Maj. Gen. John A. Logan. It is thought that the date was selected because flowers will be in bloom all across the nation on that day.
That year, Arlington National Cemetery, which is located across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., hosted the first significant celebration. The festivities were centered on the Arlington mansion’s mourning-draped veranda, which served as General Robert E. Lee’s former residence. A number of Washington dignitaries, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the rituals. Following the remarks, members of the GAR and kids from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home made their way through the cemetery, placing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, performing prayers, and singing songs.
The First Local Observances,
They say local springtime memorial services for the Civil War victims have already been held in several locations.
One of the first took place on April 25, 1866, in Columbus, Miss., when a group of ladies went to a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had died in the battle of Shiloh. The graves of Union soldiers nearby were uncared for since they were the enemy. The women also scattered some of their flowers on those graves after being disturbed by the sight of the empty graves. Cities in both the North and the South today stake a claim to having established Memorial Day in 1866. Richmond, Va., as well as Macon and Columbus, both in Georgia, are the current champions. Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, claims it started there two years earlier. The first Decoration Day ceremony was held there on April 29, 1866, according to a stone in a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois. General Logan lived in Carbondale during the war. There are about 25 locations associated with the beginning of Memorial Day, many of them in the South, where the majority of the war dead were buried.
President Lyndon Johnson and Congress designated Waterloo, New York, as the “birthplace” of Memorial Day in 1966. On May 5, 1866, a ceremony there honored local veterans of the American Civil War. Businesses were closed, and locals flew their flags at half-staff. Previous celebrations in other locations, according to supporters of Waterloo, were either informal, not community-wide, or one-time events. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day celebrations were happening all over the country on May 30. State legislatures designated the day with proclamations, while the Army and Navy adopted rules for proper commemoration at their respective locations. But the celebration of those who lost their lives in all American conflicts was not added until after World War I. Although it is still frequently referred to as Decoration Day, Memorial Day was officially proclaimed a national holiday by an act of Congress in 1971. Then, like some other federal holidays, it was set to fall on the final Monday in May.
Some States Celebrate the Confederacy
Numerous Southern states also observe their own days to remember the fallen Confederates.
Confederate Memorial Day is observed in Mississippi on the final Monday in April, in Alabama on the fourth Monday, and in Georgia on April 26. On May 10 in North and South Carolina, on June 3 in Louisiana, and on May 10 in Tennessee, it is known as Confederate Decoration Day. Confederate Heroes Day is observed on January 19 in Texas, and Confederate Memorial Day is observed on the final Monday in May in Virginia.The command given by Gen. Logan to his posts in 1868 to adorn graves “with the choicest flowers of springtime” urged: “We should maintain their graves with reverent vigilance. Let inviting pathways welcome reverent guests and heartfelt mourners as they come and go. Let no carelessness or the effects of time show that we, as a nation, have forgotten what it takes to maintain a free and unified republic.
About 5,000 individuals attended the inaugural Memorial Day celebration at Arlington National Cemetery, which was attended by a similar-sized throng to that present today. In many national cemeteries now, little American flags are still placed on each grave as they were then. The practice of decorating loved ones’ graves has become customary in many families in recent years.
Special services to remember those who lose their lives in battle have their roots in antiquity.
In honor of the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the country’s wars, Pericles, the leader of Athens, said: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.” This quote is from the Peloponnesian War, which took place over 24 centuries ago.The “National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by the president in December 2000 to ensure that the sacrifices of America’s fallen heroes are never forgotten. This law established the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The objective of the commission is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them with so much freedom and opportunity,” through promoting and organizing Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance commemorations in the country.The National Moment of Remembrance calls on all Americans to take a moment of silence on Memorial Day at 3 p.m. local time to remember and honor those who have lost their lives serving the country. According to Carmella LaSpada, the founder of Moment of Remembrance, “it’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.” I always remember my grandfather and many others, and I try to always remain grateful!