Originally called #DecorationDay, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags, #MemorialDay is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. It was first widely observed on May 30, 1868
to commemorate the sacrifices of Civil War soldiers, by proclamation of Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of former Union sailors and soldiers.
This national event galvanized efforts to honor and remember fallen soldiers that began with local observances at burial grounds in several towns throughout the United States following the end of the Civil War, such as the May 1, 1865 gathering in Charleston, South Carolina
organized by recently freed, formerly enslaved, Black people to pay tribute and give proper burial to Union troops.
In 1873, New York was the first state to designate #MemorialDay as a legal holiday. By the late 1800s, many more cities and communities observed Memorial Day,
and several states had declared it a legal holiday.
After World War I, it became an occasion for honoring those who died in all of America’s wars and was then more widely established as a national holiday throughout the United States.
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