Exactly where and when is questionable, but eventually the entire Nation agreed to a particular day in May to remember those soldiers who have fallen in battle.
We call it Memorial Day.
In 1862, women in Savannah, Georgia, decorated the graves of Confederate solders who died in the Civil War.
In 1863, the cemetery dedication service at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was a commemoration ceremony at the graves of dead soldiers.
July 4, 1864, ladies decorated the graves of Civil War Soldiers, at Boalsburg, Pennsylvania.
In 1865 the Federal Government began formally dedicating National Military Cemeteries for dead Union Soldiers. More than 600,000 Union and Confederate Soldiers lost their lives during the Civil War.
Prints and Photographs Collection, Library of Congress
This was the first widely publicized gathering to honor those who died during the Civil War and was covered by The New York Tribune.
It was there that the first public commemoration took place after workers erected an enclosure and arch with the dedication, "Martyrs of the Race Course".
Around 10,000 people, including 3,000 school children, Union Troops, Northern Missionaries and black Ministers gathered to commemorate these soldiers and this day became known as Decoration Day.
In 1866, the Ladies Memorial Association, of Columbus, Georgia, passed a resolution to honor the Confederate dead annually. This is known as the Confederate Memorial Day. Throughout the south, many states continue to observe this day, however it falls on different days in different states according to the event they choose to commemorate.
April 25th, 1866, women laid flowers at the graves of both Confederate and Union soldiers, at Columbus, Mississippi.
May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization for Union Civil War Veterans, issued a proclamation for a "Decoration Day" to be observed annually and Nationally. That year, the commemoration commenced on May 30, a date chosen because there had been no particular battle on that date.
May 5, 1868, Ironton, Ohio held the first Decoration Day parade and continues this tradition today. It is claimed to be the oldest running Memorial Day parade in the Nation.
In 1868, ceremonies held for Memorial Day at Gettysburg National Park became nationally recognized as a tradition.
Memorial observances were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states that year and grew to 336 the following year. In 1871, Michigan declared Decoration Day to be an official State Holiday.
By 1890, every Northern state had done the same.
By 1870, 300,000 Union Soldiers had been reinterred in 73 National Military Cemeteries.
The Commemoration Ceremonies were sponsored by the Women's Relief Corps, which was the women's auxiliary of the Grand Army of the Republic, with nearly 100,000 members.
In 1882, the commemoration ceremonies for Decoration Day started to become known as Memorial Day, and in 1967, was declared as the official name.
In 1968, Congress declared Monday to be the National Day of Observance in order to combine 4 known military memorial holidays into one and make for a 3 day weekend. The reaction to this move was not well received.
The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address:
"Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public's nonchalant observance of Memorial Day". (Wikipedia)
Memorial Day has seen many changes over the last 153 years, but the one constant that has remained is the why. To honor and remember those soldiers who have fallen in order to protect the freedoms of these United States of America.
Library of Congress
I would venture to guess that the first soldier's grave to be decorated was probably done by his widow. A very personal and private gesture to show her undying love for him. When and why others followed suit, remains to be seen, however, we must keep in mind, that women from both the north and the south, deemed it necessary to honor soldiers, both confederate and union. I can only imagine that the women who chose to decorate the graves of soldiers from the opposite side, did so out of unspoken sisterhood to that soldier's wife who could not do so herself. These women understood the magnitude of the Civil War, the great loss on both sides. In their effort to do something, anything to acknowledge the pain that was inflicted by this war, the children it left fatherless, the women it left widowed, and the families it tore apart, they unwittingly created a National Day of Observance that is still honored more than 150 years later.
Today, we celebrate with picnics, time with friends and family and continue to decorate our cemeteries, wave our flag, and honor those fallen in battle for this country.
A Marine at Vietnam Memorial July 4, 202 (Wikipedia)
It is no longer a holiday to honor only the Civil War dead, but to honor all of the fallen soldiers, both past and present.
So, while you are enjoying your day in what ever fashion you celebrate, please take a moment to remember those who can't. Think about their families, widows and children alike, who are left behind. Their soldier sacrificed his or her life to ensure that we continue to celebrate things like Memorial Day.
~Vickie
