The Civil War, the most bloody chapter in American history, left virtually no community within our growing country untouched. Most if not all Americans, on both sides of the conflict, served or knew someone who served.
After the war, many veterans groups were formed by the veterans themselves. These were fraternal organizations whose main purpose was networking and camaraderie. Some would later form into political and advocacy groups.
Arguably, the most influential of these organizations was the Grand Army of the Republic, or “GAR”. The GAR was founded in April 6, 1866 based on the principles of "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty."
Following the war, the practice of decorating soldiers' graves was quite common throughout the north. Waterloo, New York, is generally considered to have held the first official observance. A local citizen of Waterloo, General John Murray, mentioned the event to a friend, General John A. Logan, who also happened to be the Commander-in-Chief of the GAR. Logan, liking the idea, designated May 30 as Decoration Day.
Decoration Day quickly spread in the years that followed. 183 observances were held in cemeteries in 1868, followed by 336 in 1869. Decoration Day became an official holiday in Michigan in 1871 and in every northern state by 1890.
In the South, things were different. For obvious reasons, the southern states refused to observe Decoration Day. Instead, they chose June 3rd, the birthdate of Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy.
However, Decoration Day was not completely ignored in the South. In Charleston, South Carolina, a group of black freedmen exhumed Union soldiers from a mass grave at a Confederate prison. They were reburied individually and the place declared a Union graveyard. The first southern observance took place on May 1st, 1865. A group of up to 10,000 black residents held a festive gathering at this cemetery to honor the Union dead.
Another notable southern observance took place in 1868 in Columbus, Mississippi. Women visiting a cemetery to decorate Confederate graves, were disturbed by the neglected graves of Union soldiers and decorated them as well.
Decoration Day had gradually become referred to as Memorial Day during the early to the mid 20th century, the first reference to the alternate name was found in 1882. It officially became Memorial Day in 1968, with a federal law designating it the last Monday in May to honor the American dead of all wars.
By 1880, the holiday assumed a nationalistic tone based on American Exceptionalism. Patriotism replaced enmity as the dead from both sides were remembered.
Interesting Note: May 30th was chosen to remember our war dead as it was not the anniversary of any battle.
Article by Dave Ball; sources include GAR General Order No.11, Veterans Admin., Wikipedia and History.com.