The smell of freshly cut grass, the vibrant red of freshly planted geraniums and the tiny American flags being scattered throughout cemeteries are all signs that Memorial Day is just around the corner. Memorial Day is a time to honor those who gave their lives for our country and to remember loved ones we have lost. This idea of remembrance began sometime in the mid-1860s and was called Decoration Day. It was started to honor all the soldiers who gave their lives during the Civil War. Several towns throughout the country lay claim to its origination. Although our government gives credit to the town of Waterloo, N.Y. there is documented proof of other towns having similar celebrations before Waterloo. Most of the stories I have read concerning the origination of this celebration are quite fascinating; however, there are too many to tell them all. After all, it really makes no difference where Memorial Day originated so long as the purpose for which it stands is not lost over time.
The earliest documented account of Decoration Day took place in Boalsburg, Penn. sometime during 1864. A young woman named Emma Hunter, whose father commanded a regiment at Gettysburg was placing flowers upon his tomb when she met a woman named Mrs. Meyer who was placing flowers on her son's grave. The two women agreed to meet the following year and once again decorate the graves. Eventually, over time, other town's people joined in and decorated graves in the cemetery.
April 29 (? April 26), 1866, the first anniversary of General J. E. Johnston's surrender of the last of the major Confederate troops to the Union, marks another clearly documented account of Decoration Day celebrations. Four women in Columbus, Mississippi met in Friendship Cemetery and laid wreaths of flowers upon the graves of the Confederate soldiers laid to rest there. After finishing the Confederate graves, the women then placed magnolia blossoms upon the graves of Union soldiers. With the Reconstruction period just under way and military occupation still in the south, a group of Union soldiers looked on as the women finished all forty of the graves. News soon spread of their act of honor and it reached Horace Greeley, founder of the New York Tribune, then editor of the New York Herald-Tribune. Impressed with the story, Greeley wrote a tribute to the women in honor of their noble act. Francis Finch, having read the tribute, was then inspired to write the famous poem "The BLUE and the GRAY". Her poem was published in the September, 1867 issue of the Atlantic Monthly;
"Sadly, but not without upbraiding,
The generous deed was done:
In the storm of the years that are fading,
No braver battle was won:
Under the sod and dew,
Waiting the judgement day;
Under the blossoms the blue,
Under the garlands the gray."
There are several other small towns in the south with documented accounts similar to this one and the date is the same in most of the stories.
Despite all of the other documented accounts, Waterloo, N.Y. legally claims the origination of Memorial Day. On May 17, 1966 the U.S. House of Representatives and the Congress on May 19, 1966 passed House Concur- rent Resolution 587, which states: "Resolved that the Congress of the United States, in recognition of the patriotic tradition set in motion 100 years ago in the village of Waterloo, New York does hereby officially recognize Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day." On May 26, 1966, then President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a Presidential Proclamation recognizing Waterloo as the birthplace of Memorial Day.
The Waterloo story begins sometime in the summer of 1865, when a local pharmacist named Henry C. Welles suggested to a group of friends that they should perform some type of ceremony honoring the soldiers who gave their lives during the Great Conflict. However, nothing came of the idea until the following spring when Welles pitched the idea to General John B. Murray. Murray, being a veteran of the war, was eager to carry out the idea Welles had presented to him. Murray in a very short time rallied support from other veterans. Welles and Murray formed a committee on which they both chaired. On May 5, 1866, the village of Waterloo held their first Decoration Day ceremony, paying tribute to those who gave their lives in the Civil War. Village flags were flown at half mast.
General Murray led a parade of veterans, civic groups and citizens in a march to the three local cemeteries. Once there, they decorated the graves of the dead soldiers with garlands of flowers. The ceremony was repeated the following year on the same date.
Then, in 1868, G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) Commander in Chief John A Logan issued General Order #11: "The 30th day 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, whose bodies lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land."
In 1868, following Logan's general order, Waterloo changed their date to May 30th. This was also the first year that Decoration Day ceremonies were held at Arlington National Cemetery during which General James Garfield spoke, paying tribute to fallen comrades who gave their lives for both sides of the conflict.
The G.A.R. lobbied to have Decoration Day recognized as a holiday. New York was the first state to do so in 1873 and most states followed shortly thereafter. Up until the end of WWI, the G.A.R. still had the charge of Decoration Day ceremonies. After WWI, the duty was turned over to the American Legion and this was about the same time the name was changed from Decoration Day to Memorial Day, thus becoming a day to remember not only Civil War soldiers but all soldiers who gave their lives for our country.
As time has passed, it has become a day to remember all dead and not just service men and women. A nickname for the day is "poppy day", because it is also the day you see volunteers selling artificial poppies to help raise money for disabled veterans.
On May 26, 1971, then President Richard M. Nixon declared that Memorial Day should be a national holiday celebrated on the last Monday in May. Even today, after all the time that has passed, nine states in the union do not recognize the last Monday in May as Memorial Day. They do, however, observe their own form of Memorial Day on different days. Hopefully the purpose of this holiday will not be lost to future generations of Americans and will always be remembered as we celebrate Memorial Day.
