Memorial Day



Civil War Puzzle Item #107



Hi Puzzlers,

This weekend we celebrate Memorial Day.  Many people across the country take this time to visit and honor their deceased relatives.  Church services are held, parades, fireworks and fairs also take place during this three-day period.   For others it marks the beginning of summer and the start of beach trips, barbeques and the camping season.   National events like the world famous Indianapolis 500 auto race are also scheduled annually for this weekend.  Factoid: The Indi 500 has been held on the Sunday of the Memorial Day weekend, since 1911.  WOW! Talk about a hodgepodge of events all encompassing one three-day weekend.  It leaves me wondering about the true significance of this national holiday.  Why was it really established?

Memorial Day is an American federal holiday held annually on the last Monday of May.  In its earliest days it was known as Decoration Day, a day to remember the soldiers who had died in battle during the Civil War.   Many records exist on the holiday origins and here we will examine three. 

Our first record begins with evidence found in a hymn published in 1867 which suggests various groups of southern woman were already decorating the graves of fallen soldiers prior to the war ending. The hymn titled "Kneel Where Our Loves Are Sleeping", by Nella L. Sweet contained the following dedication: "To The Ladies of the South who are Decorating the Graves of the Confederate Dead" (Source: Duke University's Historic American Sheet Music, 1850-1920).

Next we will examine records from a site now known as Hampton Park located in Charlestown, South Carolina.   The park was once used as a Union prisoner-of-war camp and estimates suggest that as many as 200 soldiers died here.   In an effort to pay tribute to the Union soldiers the local Freedmen (freed slaves) in conjunction with the area teachers and missionaries organized a celebration that was held on May 1, 1865.  Prior to the celebration the newly Freedmen beautified the area and burial ground and erected an enclosure and arch with the inscription “Martyrs of the Race Course.”  Nearly 10,000 people attended the event which was covered by the New York Tribune.  The celebration included a parade, speech, decorations, lying of flowers at the burial site and area picnics.

 In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day to be Waterloo N.Y.   Records indicate a druggist named Henry C. Welles of Waterloo, was the first to suggest honoring the fallen soldiers of the Civil War by adorning their graves with flowers in 1865.   In 1866 Welles approached General John B. Murray with his idea.  With Murray’s and the towns support a committee was developed to organize the day’s events.  Various bouquets, wreaths and crosses were made for each soldier’s grave and the village was decorated with evergreen boughs and black streamers and all flags were flown at half mast.  Ceremonies included lengthy speeches and religious services held in the local cemetery as a way to honor the fallen soldiers.

After WWI, Memorial Day was extended to include all men and women, who died in any war or military service act.

Happy Puzzling!