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Memorial Day was officially proclaimed on 5
May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the
Republic, in his
General
Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were
placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National
Cemetery. The first state to officially recognize the holiday was New York in
1873. By 1890 it was recognized by all of the northern states. The South refused
to acknowledge the day, honoring their dead on separate days until after World
War I (when the holiday changed from honoring just those who died fighting in
the Civil War to honoring Americans who died fighting in any war). It is now
celebrated in almost every State on the last Monday in May (passed by Congress
with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 - 363) to ensure a three day
weekend for Federal holidays), though several southern states have an additional
separate day for honoring the Confederate war dead: January 19 in Texas, April
26 in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi; May 10 in South Carolina; and
June 3 (Jefferson Davis' birthday) in Louisiana and Tennessee. It is not
important who was the very first, what is important is that Memorial Day was
established. Memorial Day is not about division. It is about reconciliation; it
is about coming together to honor those who gave their all. |
