On June 3, 1861, Warrenton, Virginia, was home to the first Civil War soldier`s grave ever decorated, according to a 1906 Richmond Times-Dispatch article. [19] This award was for the funeral of the first soldier killed during the Civil War, John Quincy Marr, who fought and died in battle at the Fairfax Courthouse in Virginia on June 1, 1861. [20] On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan issued a proclamation requesting that Decoration Day be observed annually and nationally; He was commander-in-chief of the Grande Armée de la République (GAR), an organization organized by and for Civil War veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois. With his proclamation, Logan adopted the practice of Memorial Day, which had begun three years earlier in the Southern states.[46] [22] [47] [48] [49] [31] [50] [51] The northern states quickly adopted the holiday. In 1868, memorial services were held in 183 cemeteries in 27 states and 336 in 1869. [52] One author states that the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a particular battle. [53] According to a 2010 White House speech, the date was chosen as the optimal date for flower flowering in the North. [54] Two other days are celebrated by those who have served or serve in the U.S.
military: Armed Services Day (formerly in May), an unofficial day of the United States. Holiday honoring those currently serving in the Armed Forces and Veterans Day (November 11), which honors those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces. [9] In 1868, some Southern figures began adding the label “Confederate” to their commemorations, claiming that Northerners had appropriated the holiday. [60] [24] [61] The first official celebration of Confederate Memorial Day as a statutory holiday was held in 1874 following a proclamation by the Georgia legislature. [62] In 1916, ten states celebrated it on June 3, the birthday of CSA President Jefferson Davis. [62] Other states chose late April or May 10 to commemorate Davis` capture. [62] Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day[1]) is a federal holiday in the United States to mourn the United States.
Military personnel who fought and died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. [2] It is observed on the last Monday in May in national cemeteries with flowers and American flags placed on the graves of military personnel. It was already observed on May 30 from 1868 to 1970. [3] The Ladies` Memorial Association played a key role in using Memorial Day rituals to preserve Confederate culture. [39] Various dates from April 25 to mid-June have been assumed in various southern states. Throughout the South, associations were formed, many by women, to establish and maintain permanent cemeteries for Confederate dead, organize memorial services, and sponsor appropriate memorials to permanently commemorate the Confederate dead. The largest of these was the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which grew from 17,000 members in 1900 to nearly 100,000 women during World War I. They have “been remarkably successful in raising money to build Confederate monuments, lobbying legislators and Congress for the reburial of the dead Confederates, and working to shape the contents of history books.” [63] President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, New York, the “birthplace of Memorial Day” because he began an official celebration on May 5, 1866.
However, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, also claims to have made the first sighting, based on an October 1864 sighting. In fact, many other cities also claim to be the first to hold a celebration. In 1868, Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic issued General Order No. 11, which designated May 30 as a day of remembrance “to sprinkle or decorate with flowers the graves of comrades who died defending their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies are now in almost every city, every village and hamlet cemetery in the country.” Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.