![]() Until World War I, Civil War soldiers were solely honored on this holiday. This tradition continues to thrive in cemeteries of all sizes across the country. The orphaned children of soldiers and sailors killed during the war placed flowers and small American flags atop both Union and Confederate graves throughout the entire cemetery. Grant presided over the first large observance, a crowd of about 5,000 people, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on May 30, 1873. On May 5, 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, the tradition of placing flowers on veterans’ graves was continued by the establishment of Decoration Day by an organization of Union veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic. One of the first Decoration Days was held in Columbus, Mississippi, on Apby women who decorated graves of Confederate soldiers who perished in the battle at Shiloh with flowers. A commemorative marker was erected there in 2010. ![]() Then on May 1, 1865, they held an event there including a parade – Blacks who fought in the Civil War participated – spiritual readings and songs, and picnicking. Blacks in the city organized a burial of deceased Union prisoners and built a fence around the site, Yale historian David Blight wrote in The New York Times in 2011. The first observance of what would become Memorial Day, some historians think, took place in Charleston, S.C., at the site of a horse racing track that Confederates had turned into a prison holding Union prisoners. The origins of the holiday can be traced back to local observances for soldiers with neglected gravesites during the Civil War. forces.Īhead of this year’s holiday, here are some Memorial Day facts you might not know: What is Memorial Day and why do we celebrate it? Unlike Veterans Day, Memorial Day honors all military members who have died in while serving in U.S. ![]() Memorial Day was declared a national holiday through an act of Congress in 1971, and its roots date back to the Civil War era, according to the U.S. Originally called Decoration Day, Monday's holiday honors all soldiers who died during service to the nation. The real meaning of the national holiday is much more somber. Remembering victims of the Boko Haram terrorism.No, Memorial Day isn't about a long weekend road trip, backyard barbecue or sales. Remembers all who died at war, in addition to the 1.4 million people killed in World War I.Ĭommemorating members of the armed forces and civilians who died in armed conflicts. Memorializing fallen British military personnel in all conflicts since the Great War.Ĭelebrates the end of World War I and remembers all of the country’s fallen soldiers.Ĭommemorates all of Canada’s servicemen and women. Honoring the day that Austria-Hungary surrendered to the Italians in 1918. Honoring servicemen and civilians who gave their lives for their country. Here’s how 10 other countries pay their respects annually: Memorial Day Around the World CountryĬelebrates civilians and military members who died in conflicts since World War II. But other countries around the world also honor their fallen military forces with a day of remembrance. Memorial Day as we know it is a strictly American holiday. The same law also declared Memorial Day a federal holiday. But, in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for federal employees. But this was not the case in the South, where states continued to honor their dead on separate days until after the First World War. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.īy 1890, each Northern state had made Decoration Day an official holiday. ![]() Small American flags were placed on each grave - a tradition still followed at many national cemeteries today. 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. States passed proclamations, and the Army and Navy adopted rules for proper observance at their facilities. By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. Logan apparently chose May 30 because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land…” Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic (an organization of Union veterans) would eventually select May 30, 1868, as a day to pay tribute to the fallen: Over 620,000 soldiers died in the four-year conflict. Grant at the Appomattox Court House on April 9. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. The Civil War ended in the spring of 1865 when Robert E.
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