On Memorial Day, Americans honor those who fought
and died for a cause greater than themselves.
Few have experienced the horrors of war.
Many know the pain of losing a loved one on a distant battlefield.
Here is an excerpt from an article published in the
Cecil Daily on how Decoration Day became Memorial Day:
Three years after the
Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans
— the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time
for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers.
Maj.
Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30.
It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over
the country.
The
first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery,
across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
The
ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington
mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials,
including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After
speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of
the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and
Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.
Source:
No comments:
Post a Comment