Memorial Day History

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

Local Observances Claim To Be First Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.

Official Birthplace Declared In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.

By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.

Some States Have Confederate Observances Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.

Gen. Logan’s order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 “with the choicest flowers of springtime” urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. … Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend today’s observance, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave — a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.

The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation’s wars: “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.”

To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

We hope that today’s “READERS FORUM” will provoke honest and open dialogue concerning issues that we, as responsible citizens of this community, need to address in a rational and responsible way.

HERE’S WHAT’S ON OUR MIND TODAY

WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND TODAY?

By John Krull
TheStatehouseFile.com 

FRANKLIN, Indiana – The young woman in the cap and gown speaking to her fellow recent college graduates says something that always moves me.

She says she’s the first member of her family to earn a college degree.

There’s a moment of silence, then the hundreds of people in the audience applaud.

As they should.

It’s a big moment not just for her, but for her entire family. A lot of people had to work hard, had to sacrifice, had to struggle to put her where she is. She’s the one up in front of the crowd making the speech, but they all deserve to take a bow.

They did something.

Something that matters.

Earlier in this commencement at Franklin College – where I teach – a young man walked across the stage to receive his diploma and congratulatory handshake. Just after the young man’s name was announced – in violation of the admonition to hold applause until the end – a strong male voice rang out:

“THAT’S MY SON!”

Everyone laughed.

They laughed because it was funny, but also because the father’s pride in his son sounded across the big space like a sonic boom.

Big moment for that family, too.

Another time, when another young man’s name was announced, the members of his family erupted in cheers and applause. After the young man had collected his diploma and handshake and walked off the stage, he was supposed to walk back to his seat.

He looked up to where his family was seated and made a quick decision. He ran up into the stands, taking the steps two at a time, his gown flapping behind him like a superhero’s cape.

Then he gave his father a long hug.

The crowd applauded.

A great moment for that family, too.

It makes me feel good to listen to that young woman talk about being her family’s first college graduate. To hear that father yell with pride. To see that son sprint to share a hug with his dad.

We live in an angry, angry age. Americans right left and center are frustrated and not shy about giving voice to that frustration. Their catalogs of resentment and complaint can blind us to so many things.

Among the things we sometimes forget is that there are many, many stories such as these taking place all across this land every minute of every hour of every day of the year.

There are people working hard, doing the right things, taking care of each other. They make sacrifice after sacrifice after sacrifice so they can have days like this one.

It’s an axiom of politics that’s it’s easier to move voters by frightening them than inspiring them. Angry citizens have motivated voters.

But that’s not the way most Americans live their lives.

They don’t go to work because they hate. They do so because they love.

They work hard because they want better lives for themselves. They want opportunities for their children. For their grandchildren. For their grandchildren’s grandchildren.

I’m the grandson of one grandfather who started his life as an itinerant farm worker and another grandfather who walked 40 miles, one way, to attend school so he could become his family’s first college graduate.

The grandchildren they share now are foundation executives, lawyers, journalists, and college professors.

That’s how the American dream works for so many. Hands linked through generations, pushing, pulling, willing the family forward.

There is, of course, a big American story about freedom and the long struggle to liberate the human spirit.

But within that big story are many little stories of individual Americans from all over making their way in this world, one step – one milestone – at a time.

Some of those stories unfold here.

A son hugs his father.

A father ricochets his pride off the walls for everyone to hear.

A young woman announces she’s the first of her line to make it through college.

Good for those students.

Good for their families.

And good for America, too.

FOOTNOTE: John Krull is the Director of Franklin College’s Pulliam School of Journalism and publisher of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.