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“The Floral Tribute to the Nation’s Dead”
No caption
Artist
Charles S. Reinhart illustrates families paying tribute to America’s
war dead by decorating the graves of their loved ones who died in
military service to their country.
Depicting primarily women as mourners, in both the foreground and
background, emphasizes the loss of men in wartime. Several communities claim to have begun the practice of
Decoration Day, as it was originally called, but it probably developed
spontaneously in various localities during or shortly after the Civil
War. A song published in
1867, “Kneel Where Our Loves Are Sleeping,” is dedicated “To the
Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate
Dead.” In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson named Waterloo, New York,
as the official birthplace of the holiday since the town had
consistently closed its businesses for the day and hosted a large
celebration since 1866.
On May 5, 1868, Congress passed a resolution that
proclaimed May 30 as Memorial Day for decorating the graves of the Civil
War dead. It was sponsored
by Congressman John Logan of Illinois, a former Union general who then
commanded the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), the leading Union
veterans’ organization. In
his corresponding order to his fellow Union veterans, Logan declared
that the day was set aside for “decorating the graves of comrades who
died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.”
The annual observance would prevent future generations from
saying that “we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and
undivided republic.” Thus,
backers of the first national Memorial Day rhetorically encouraged
remembrance of the sacrifice made by the Union war dead.
Harper’s Weekly defined it as “the day designated for
strewing with flowers the graves of the Union soldiers.”
Although this cartoon does not explicitly identify the
affiliation of the war dead, the inscription on the stone marker
(lower-left), “These Shall Not Have Died In Vain,” can only refer to
the victorious Union servicemen. It
may also allude to the ongoing political struggle over Reconstruction.
On May 30, 1868, the first national Memorial Day
was observed at Arlington National Cemetery outside of Washington, D. C.
The bodies of 20,000 Union servicemen and several hundred
Confederate war-dead are buried there.
General Ulysses S. Grant, General Winfield S. Hancock, other
dignitaries, and a crowd of 5000 listened to an address by Congressman
James Garfield, a former Union general, sang hymns, and recited prayers.
The assembly then proceeded reverently to the grave of the
Unknown Soldier where a memorial ceremony was held.
Finally, children from a local orphanage decorated the graves
with wreaths and tiny American flags.
Harper’s Weekly reported that similar ceremonies were
held across the country (while only giving examples from the North),
with businesses in many of those communities closing for the observance.
The practice continued to spread over the next few
decades and became an official holiday in many states.
The GAR, the primary promoter of the holiday, frowned upon
picnics and other forms of public entertainment and worked to keep the
day a solemn occasion. Southern
states recognized a different day (usually also in the spring) as
Decoration Day for the Confederate war-dead.
After World War I, the national holiday officially became a
memorial for those who died in all American wars or military
engagements. Over the
years, it increasingly became a general Day of the Dead on which
families placed flowers on the graves of all loved ones; publicly,
though, the sacrifice of the deceased servicemen and women remained the
central focus. In 1971,
Congress changed the holiday from May 30 to the last Monday in May.
Robert C. Kennedy
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