Before Memorial Day, there was . . .
Decoration Day
The Civil War—the country’s bloodiest military conflict—touched everyone. Between 600,000-800,000 soldiers were killed, their graves scattered across the U.S. Even before the war ended, Northerners and Southerners alike began honoring these fallen soldiers by placing flowers and flags on their graves.
However, it wasn’t until May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), called for a nationwide day of remembrance. He declared May 30 as “Decoration Day,” a day to honor those who had died defending their country. He hoped the day would continue to be observed “year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades.”
Did You Know…
- Decoration Day was to honor those soldiers killed in, or as a result of participating in, a Civil War battle.
- May 30 was chosen as Decoration Day because no specific Civil War battle had been fought on that date, and because in most areas of the country, flowers would be in bloom.
- On the first Decoration Day in 1868, 5,000 participants decorated the graves of 20,000 Civil War soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery. The floral decorations were created by multitudes of volunteers, using flowers from Washington D.C.’s public gardens.
- GAR was the Civil War’s Union Veterans organization.
- GAR members in seventeen states also observed that first Decoration Day.
- Albert Henry Woolson (February 11, 1850 – August 2, 1956) was the last known surviving member of the Union Army who served in the American Civil War. (He was also the last undisputed Civil War veteran on either side.)
The First
Many communities claim to have held memorial gatherings prior to May 30, 1868. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, one of the earliest took place in Boalsburg, PA. In October 1864, three women decorated the graves of the town’s Civil War soldiers. Then they did the same for soldiers who’d died in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Before they could repeat this floral tribute the next year, General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, and they turned their attention to the Union’s victory and the return of their men.
In Charleston, S.C., more than 260 Union prisoners died in the Confederate Army’s makeshift prison and were hastily buried in a mass grave. When Charleston fell and the Confederate troops fled, the newly freed slaves exhumed the Union soldiers’ bodies and reburied them in a new cemetery. On May 1, 1865, 10,000 mostly freed slaves, brought flowers to decorate the soldiers’ graves. They sang songs, black ministers recited bible verses, and black Union regiments marched during this “Memorial Day” observance.
On May 5, 1866, Waterloo, N.Y., hosted a community-wide celebration. Businesses closed for the day and residents decorated the soldiers’ graves with flags and flowers. Because Waterloo’s celebration was an annual event, in 1966 Congress named it as “the official birthplace of Memorial Day.”
Exactly who honored their Civil War dead first doesn’t matter. What is important is their actions eventually led to the establishment of Decoration Day and, in time, Memorial Day.
Memorial Day
The practice of decorating soldiers’ graves spread, and by 1890, every Northern (former Union) state had declared “Declaration Day” as an official state holiday. Southern (former Confederate) states also honored their dead, but did so on separate days until after World War I.
Also, after World War I, the original purpose of honoring those killed in the Civil War changed to honoring American military personnel killed in all wars. But it wasn’t until President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 that Decoration Day officially became a federal holiday called Memorial Day and moved to the last Monday in May.
Did You Know…
- In 1873, the state of New York was the first state to make Decoration Day a legal holiday.
- The Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect on January 1, 1971.
- The National Moment of Remembrance Act, signed by President Bill Clinton in 2000, encourages all Americans to pause at 3 P.M. local time and remember those who lost their lives while in service to their country.
Final Thoughts
As the years went by, Decoration Day evolved, both in name and meaning. By the end of the nineteenth century, the name “Decoration Day” had given way to “Memorial Day.” Likewise, rather than honoring only those soldiers killed in the Civil War, the commemoration had expanded to include American soldiers killed in all wars.
Newly sworn-in President Harry S. Truman best summarized the importance of Memorial Day when he told the U.S. Congress on April 16, 1945: “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices.”
This Memorial Day make sure you don’t forget those who made the ultimate sacrifice.