Show une F J G mein aff E 1 4 0 G er john 33 JA kG G Garfield ofiel d t by ELMO SCOTT WATSON 0 ONU OND un van t say for certain just where and when the idea of memorial day originated n abed A recent historian lloyd lewis attributes it tr to the grief brief which swept the nation at 11 the ie death of abraham lincoln wr writing ting in liberty magazine two years ago under the title ot of Ale memorial morial day Is born he be says bays always there will be a dispute over ever where the day began because the day itself came from nowhere and everywhere the greater the number of claimants for its birthplace the plainer the proof that the republic was aching vaguely with ith eagerness to speak its grief after four years of killing seven hundred thousand men blue and gray were dead the funeral of the wars greatest figure pointed the way each little fugitive decoration of graves braves across the land was a seed springing from ground that had bad been harrowed into fertility by the lincoln linc c 0 in funeral spectacle sentiment c crystallized as that burial drama with its ita pomp and storms of flowers fitted into the mood of the moment As for the various claimants there can only be regarded the facts of their observances each of which contained the germ of the idea in their chronological order without attempting to assign any priority to any one on june 1 warrentown Warren town va held memorial services over the grave of a con confederate federate hero john quincy marr on may 1 1865 a memorial service was held in charleston 8 0 which had been organized by james war correspondent and later founder of the ined path lyceum bureau who was then superintendent odthe of the freed mens schools in that city that same year some time in the spring of the women ot of columbus on ga had decorated the graves of their war dead and the following january the members of the ladles ladies aid society there decided to per peu u ate the custom they picked upon april 20 26 the anniversary an niver sary of the surrender eur render of gen joseph johnston linston Jo the last formal act of the civil war as aa the date for their memorial day celebration montgomery ala observed the same day april 20 26 1860 fredericksburg va decided upon may 10 1800 1860 and camden ark decorated graves in november 1800 1860 up north at least one memorial service was held in ING 1800 gen john J murray M ur of waterloo N Y and some of 0 f his comrades in the union army are said to have decorated graves in their home cemetery on may 22 1806 but even though it Is impossible to establish definitely any exact prior ilyin the matter of the origin of this day it Is possible to trace a succession of events which led to the observance of what perhaps may be characterized as aa the first memorial day in its close resemblance to the event as it Is now celena celebrated ted on april IEK the women of columbus miss held memorial services in the cemetery of that town and decorated not only the graves of the confederate war dead but also those of some ome union soldiers sold leris burled there the next spring there appeared in a new york newspaper a brief paragraph which stated that tha t 41 the women of columbus miss have shown themselves impartial in their offerings made to the memory of the dead they sorely flowers allice alike on the proves graves of the confederate and of the national soldiers sold lere among those who read that item was ft a young lawyer named francis miles finch who was wag living in ithaca N Y it inspired him to write the following verses THE BLUE AND THE GRAY by the flow of 0 the inland river whence the tha fleets a 0 iron have fled flea off where the blades ot the grave gra arasa a quiver asleep a ap are the ranks of the dead under the sod od and the dew waiting battin g the th judgment day under the one the blue under the tha other the gray these in the of glory those in the gloom of defeats defeat all with the battle blood gory bory I 1 in the dusk duk ot of oter I 1 ty meet 5 f WM oa monument to 0 the e m in under the sod and the dew waiting the J judgment day under the laurel the was under the willow the gray from the silence of sorrowful hours hour the desolate mourners go BO lovingly laden with flowers A alike I 1 ike for the friend and the too fool under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day under the tha roses the blue under the lilies the gray so with an equal mp splendor landor the morning sun rays tall fall with a touch imp impartially m tender on the blossoms blossome blooming tor for all under the sod and the drw dew waiting the judgment day Brol dered with gold the blue mellowed with gold the gray so when the summer bummer calleta cal leth on forest and field of grain with an equal m murmur falle I 1 h the cooling drip of th the a rain under the sod and the de dew w waiting the judgment day wet with the rain the blue wet the rain the gray sadly badly but not with upbraiding the generous deed was done in the torm storm ot of the years that are fading no braver battle was won under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day under the blossoms b 1 the blue under und er the garlands the gray no more shall the war cry sever or the winding rivers be red they banish our anger forever when they laurel the graves of our dead under the sod and the dew waiting the judgment day love and tears for the blue tears and love for the gray when this poem was published it achieved instant popularity it was widely reprinted and later inter set to music so that its message of reconciliation cil lation was carried to all points of the country I 1 meanwhile on april 8 6 1800 1860 tb there ere had been organized at decatur ill III a group of union veterans who took the name of the grand army of the tha republic and within a short abort almo thousands of men who had worn the blue were wera members of the 0 A it as it became familiarly known in 1808 the national commander of the G A 11 was gen john A logan of illinois on a cold raw day in march of that year a party from washington set out to visit the battlefields around richmond the leader of the group was col charles L wilson a engo editor of that time and with him were his niece fiancee and sirs mrs john A logon logan they rode from one scene of desolation to another touched by the poverty of the region once the proud capital of the confederacy and above all they noticed the numberless confederate graves most of them decorated with faded flowers and bunting with hero here and there an improvised gravestone returning to washington the richmond pilgrims went to the rooms of general logan who had been unable to his wife on the trip because of the pressure of con congles gres res business the war torn country about richmond was described to him the rows of graves each marked by some loving hand band now covered by a gentle snow that nevertheless could not dim the tokens of devotion left upon them the greeks and romans said general logan in the day of their glory were wont to honor their hero dead by charleta chaplets cha pleta of laurel and flowers ns as well as bronze and stone and he added that this thought should be carried over to the united states it could be done he believed by the issuance of an order from him as comann commander der in chief of the G A R to the posts established throughout the north general gener it I 1 logan immediately set about writing the order and the following night called a meeting of the G A it staff officers in his rooms at the old willard hotel washington where the order he had written was submitted for their approval the staff was unanimous in agreement and not long thereafter order no 1111 11 was broadcast from 0 A R 11 headquarters all over the country in part that famous order reads as follows GENERAL ORDERS NO 11 headquarters grand army of the no he public adjutant generals office uth street washington D C may hay 6 general orders no 11 I 1 the day of may 1808 1868 I 1 IR designated for the purpose of 0 strewing with lowers flowers or otherwise decorating the graves braves of 0 comrades who died in defence ot of their country during the late rebellion and whose bodies now lie its in almost every city village hamlet and churchyard in the land in this observance no form of ceremony I 1 la prescribed lut but posts posta and comrades comrad e will in their own way arrange su such ch fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit we are orga organized nied comrades las as our regulations tell us for or the purpose among other things 0 of o preserving and strengthening those kind tind and fraternal feelings which have bound together ali clr soldiers Bol diers sallon sailors and marines who united together to suppress the late rebellion what can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead who made their breasts a barricade between our country and it its foes their soldier lives were the reville reveille ot of freedonna free freedom donN to a race in chains and their deaths the tattoo of rebellious tyranny in arms we should guard their graves braves with sa ea cred vigilance all that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to their adornment and security is in but a fitting tribute to the memory ot at her bar slain defenders let no wanton foot tread rudely on such cuch hallowed grou grounds ado let pleasant paths path invite the co coming m in and going ot of reverent visitors visitor and ton fond mourners let no vandalism of avarice or neglect oct no ravages ot of time testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost coat of a free and undivided republic it if other eyes grow dull and other hands slack and other hearts crow cold in the solemn trust ours shall keep it well as long as an the light and warmth of life remain to us lot let us then at the time appointed gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above thern then with the choicest flowers of springtime let iet us raise above them th the dear old flag they saved from dishonor let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us a wlfred charge upon a nations gratitude tude the soldiers widow and orphan 11 II it is I 1 the th purpose of the commander ln in calef to inaugurate this observance with the hope that it will be kept jept up from year to year while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of hit him departed comrades ile he earnestly desires the public press to call attention to this order and lend tta its friendly aid in bringing it to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country in time tor for simultaneous compliance therewith III department commanders will use every effort to make this order effective by order of john A logan commander ln in chief official caal N P chipman adjutant general As a result of this order formal exercises were held at arlington va later the site of the present arlington national cemetery on may 30 the principal ceremony being the decoration decoi atlon with flags and flowers of the monument to the unknown dead a memorial that had been erected to the memory of 2111 unidentified dead found on the fields of bull run and the route to Rap nock the principal address was delivered by james A garfield twelve years later elected president of the united states As yet the term memorial day or decoration day hart had not been linked with the observance and his address afterward printed in pamphlet form in cleveland odilo i 0 was simply entitled ora oration tion 0 at lion ilan james A garfield delivered at arlington va may 30 on the alie occasion of strewing flowers on the graves of union soldiers the idea spread rapidly and at the ceremonies held by tho the 0 A R in monument cemetery in philadelphia on may 28 29 1875 it was recorded that the annual floral decoration of the graves of our dead soldiers has become a national custom for it was wai doing much to heal the wounds of the war and in uniting to honor their dead the north find and the south were forgetting tho the bitterness of a few short years before one of the most significant bits of evidence of this occurred in brooklyn when on n the eve of may 30 0 1877 a great throng assembled in the academy of music to hear the chief orator of the day judge roger A pryor fryer formerly brigadier general in the confederate army |