Memorial
Day, perhaps more than any other holiday, was born of human
necessity. Deep inside all of us lies a fundamental desire to
make sense of life and our place in it and the world. What we
have been given, what we will do with it and what we will pass
to the next generation is all part of an unfolding history, a
continuum that links one soul to another.
Abraham
Lincoln pondered these thoughts in the late fall of 1863. His
darkest fear was that he might well be the last president of the
United States, a nation embroiled in the self-destruction of
what he described as "a great civil war..testing whether
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated can
long endure." He began his remarks with those words as he
stood on the battlefield near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on
November 19th of that year.
The
minute's speech that became known as Lincoln's Gettysburg
Address turned into what might be called the first observance of
Memorial Day. Lincoln's purpose that day was to dedicate a
portion of the battlefield as a cemetery for the thousands of
men, both living and dead, who consecrated that soil in the
sacrifice of battle. Said Abraham Lincoln: "That from these
honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause which they
gave the last full measure of devotion...that this nation, under
God, shall have a new birth of freedom..."
About
that same time in 1865, a druggist in Waterloo, New York, Henry
C. Welles, began promoting the idea of decorating the graves of
Civil War veterans. He gained the support of the Seneca County
Clerk, General John B. Murray, and they formed a committee to
make wreaths, crosses and bouquets for each veteran's grave. On
May 5, 1866, war veterans marching to martial music led
processions to each of three cemeteries, where the graves were
decorated and speeches were made by General Murray and local
clergymen. The village itself was also decorated with flags at
half-mast, evergreen boughs and mourning black streamers.
Also,
as the Civil War was coming to a close in the spring of 1865,
Women's Auxiliaries of the North and South moved from providing
relief to the families and soldiers on their own sides to
joining in efforts to preserve and decorate the graves of both
sides. A woman of French extraction and leader of the Virginia
women's movement, Cassandra Oliver Moncure, took responsibility
of coordinating the activities of several groups into a combined
ceremony on May 30. It is said that she picked that day because
it corresponded to the Day of Ashes in France, a solemn day that
commemorates the return of the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte to
France from St. Helena.
In
1868, General John A. Logan, first commander of the Grand Army
of the Republic issued a General Order establishing May 30 as an
official memorial day to pay respect to all those who had died,
in war or peace.
On May
5, 1868, Logan declared in General Order No. 11 that:
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. In this observance no form of
ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their
own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of
respect as circumstances may permit.
During the
first celebration of Decoration Day, General James Garfield made
a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000
participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than
20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried in the cemetery.
As
already mentioned this
1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in
several towns throughout America that had taken place in the
three years since the Civil War. In fact, several Northern and
Southern cities claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day,
including Columbus, Mississippi; Macon, Georgia; Richmond,
Virginia; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; and Carbondale, Illinois.
In
1966, the federal government, under the direction of President
Lyndon Johnson, declared Waterloo, New York, the official
birthplace of Memorial Day. They chose Waterloo—which had
first celebrated the day on May 5, 1866—because the town had
made Memorial Day an annual, community-wide event during which
businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of soldiers
with flowers and flags.
By
the late 1800s, many communities across the country had begun to
celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances also
began to honor those who had died in all of America's wars. In
1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be
celebrated the last Monday in May. (Veterans Day, a day set
aside to honor all veterans, living and dead, is celebrated each
year on November 11.)
Today,
Memorial Day is celebrated at Arlington National Cemetery with a
ceremony in which a small American flag is placed on each grave.
Also, it is customary for the president or vice-president to
give a speech honoring the contributions of the dead and lay a
wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. About 5,000 people
attend the ceremony annually.
Several
Southern states continue to set aside a special day for honoring
the Confederate dead, which is usually called Confederate
Memorial Day:
Mississippi:
Last Monday in April
Alabama:
Fourth Monday in April
Georgia:
April 26
North
Carolina: May 10
South
Carolina: May 10
Louisiana:
June 3
Tennessee
(Confederate Decoration Day): June 3
Texas
(Confederate Heroes Day): January 19
Virginia:
Last Monday in May
Perhaps General
Logan's proclamation was simply the making official of what the
nation yearned for and spontaneously began to form after the
near total destruction of the Civil War. It is that sharing of
loss, honoring the sacrifices of those who made possible the
lives we enjoy today, and family connections across the
generations that keep Memorial Day in our hearts...and always
will.
