Memorial Day: How it came to be, and how it evolved
There are different historic accounts as to the technical origins of the holiday.
However, Memorial Day, originally called 'Decoration Day,' became most widely known after it was established in 1868 by Grand Army of the Republic Commander-in-Chief John A. Logan, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
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After the Civil War, which ended in 1865, fallen servicemembers would periodically have their graves decorated with flowers. On May 5, 1868, the 'Memorial Day Act' was issued by Logan and dedicated as a Decoration Day for the war dead.
Women played a part in the advocacy of a commemorative holiday. The idea of honoring the graves of fallen Civil War servicemembers began in Columbus, Georgia, after their city cemetery was damaged. A Ladies Memorial Association's efforts to improve it led to a media campaign in which Secretary Mary Ann Williams published a letter in the local newspaper on March 11, 1866.
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The letter advocated 'to set apart a certain day to be observed…and be handed down through time as a religious custom of the country, to wreathe the graves of our martyred dead with flowers.' Their proposed date was April 26, 1866.
However, the Grand Army of the Republic ultimately placed the ceremonial observation on May 30 to provide enough time for a variety of springtime flowers to be in bloom.
At a time when the country was adjusting to the aftermath of the Civil War, the holiday allowed a sense of camaraderie.
In 1873, New York became the first state to officially recognize the holiday, and the remaining Union states recognized Decoration Day by 1890.
Decoration Day became increasingly known as Memorial Day over the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries as an informal patriotic holiday, according to Veterans Affairs. After World War I, the event was expanded to include deaths in all American wars.
Legislation enacted in 1968 — going into effect in 1971 — designated Memorial Day a national holiday and moved it from May 30 to the last Monday in May.
As it currently stands, the holiday is now designed 'to observe Memorial Day by praying, according to their individual religious faith, for permanent peace,' according to Cornell Law School.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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