05/25/2026
The origins of Memorial Day (originally called Decoration Day) date back to the end of the Civil War, which took the lives of 620,000 soldiers. Nearly every family in America felt the grief of losing someone to the war.
While the exact origins of early memorials to honor lost soldiers are unclear, one account stands out in Charleston, South Carolina shortly after the war ended in 1865 (paraphrased from the National Museum of the US Army): During the Civil War, the Confederate army used one of the city’s race courses as a prison for captured soldiers. Those who died in captivity, were buried in unmarked graves outside the racetrack pavilion. Charleston’s African American population decided to rebury the dead soldiers with honors, spending ten days digging new graves and building a fence, complete with an archway reading “Martyrs of the Race Course.” On May 1, 1865, 10,000 residents, mostly African American, led a procession to the new cemetery, singing patriotic songs, decorating the graves with flowers, and holding prayers. Three white and black Army regiments ended the day with a practice drill and a march around the graves.
Stories have also circulated of three women in Boalburg, Pennsylvania who led contingents of civilians to the cemeteries at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1864 to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers.
On May 5, 1868, Major General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Union Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance. Decoration Day, as he called it, should be on May 30th. Some believe this date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom in every area of the country and be available to decorate the graves.
General James Garfield gave a speech at Arlington National Cemetery on that first Decoration Day. Around 5,000 people attended and decorated the graves of 20,000 Civil War soldiers with small American flags.
Many Northern states held similar commemorative events with each one making Decoration Day an official state holiday. Southern states continued to honor their dead on different days until after World War I.
In 1968, the date for Memorial Day was changed from May 30th to the last Monday in May.
In 1971, Memorial Day became a federal holiday across the country.
In 2000, Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act". This act encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to our nation.
Sources:
History.com
US Dept. of Veterans Affairs
National Museum of the United States Army
