Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 117, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 May 1918 — Origin Of Memorial Day [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Origin Of Memorial Day

*k^-.- S; ,. •/ Mrs. John A Login Tells How Annual Ceremony Was Inaugurated By Her ,Husband d> •£

widow of a great general Jtflht who led many victorious wdflßJ) w char « es ' n *^ e Civil war, xUKUk and mother of a soldier who,, down his life in the service of his country, Mrs. John A. Logan, has given her time and efforts since tto? commencement of foreign to work.for.the afflicted. Of the present war. " a . “I cannot rest, and will not; so long as strength is given me, for I know what sorrow and suffering is wrought upon ’the helpless by war,” she said. It was in the spacious workroom at the top of her beautiful home in Washington that her visitor found her. It was not a sewing day, and instead of European work, Mrs. Logan was sitting at her desk absorbed in the perusal of letters, papers and to)°kS which, related, to the long past of her own life, to a war nearer home and to her participation in the events which made Amerieah history at a crucial- period of-this country's life, and it was of those things she was in a mood to talk. “I have been thinking of what the coming Memorial day must mean to us all,” she said. “The survivors of the Civil war are rapidly passing off the stage of life, but those who yet remain from that time, and they who are following us. will see to it that homage is done to those who paid the price of a nation's salvation. It is a duty we owe and it should never die. “This year, as we strew with flowers the graves of those who died for a just cause we cannot but think of the terrible cataclysm of suffering and death now overwhelming Europe, and the great range of memorial days which will be its heritage ere long. “I prefer the name Memorial day to Decoration day, for although ours Is a national holiday, it should not be forgotten that ft is a day of national remer ■ance of the dead and ought to be observed with seemly quietude and dignity. I have been verymuch pained these later years to note that .many of the younger generation have lost all sight of the original meaning of the day, and that in some places it Is celebrated by such diversions as horse racing and other riotous sports which seem to be a very prostitution of the main idea of the occasion. “The Grand Army of the Republic has made strong protestations against the misuse of our national day of mourning for the soldiers who gave their lives for our country, and it is good to note that the Sons of Veterans, who are now filling the places of their fathers, take a very serious view of their duty in consecrating this one day to sacred memory and affectionate tribute to our soldier dead, and are carrying out appropriate programs at the various grounds where soldiers of the Civil war lie buried. “I can, too, say in all truth that Memorial day has brought forth a great harvest of worthily expressed sentiment the occasion having inspired men and women to utterances of real eloquence, beautiful thoughts and true poetry, because the theme Is worthy of the best that loyal hearts can feel and gifted tongues or pens express. I “Yes, Decoration day was the thought and institution of General Logan, and I recall every detail of every incident which led to its inauguration. It was in, March. 1868, that General Logan, redeeming a promise made during the election campaign of Grant and Colfax, made an engagement for himself and me to accompany his good friend. Col. Charles L. Wilson, editor of the Chicago Journal, upon a visit to the city of Richmond and the battlefields of Virginia. The colonel, who was a bachelor, was accompanied by his fiancee, Miss Farrar of Boston. • “General Logan was “then in congress, and matters of great importance were before the national legislature,.

iihtf ini consequence rriy husband could not accompany UK The CoToneT insisted upon my taking my two children with us. although both .were very small, my little boy, -John A. Logan, - Jr., a mere baby. However, lie regarded the trip in the light of an historic pilgrimage and felt that the children should- see some of the battlefields over which distinguished generals had led their armies. “It was a cold, bleak day on which we arrived in Richmond, and the hotel was a desolate place of refuge. It afforded one of the evidences of the privations which the people of the Confederacy had suffered. These evidences were very plentiful throughout the city, as we later discovered. The vehicle* which Colonel Wilson found for our conveyance for the drive to the battlegrounds nearby was a wretched carriage drawn by two miserably poor horses. The driver - was the picture of dejection, and the small boy who served as footman was no better, and he shivered from head to foot with the cold. “As we drove over the battlefields we observed colored people picking up the bullets and pieces of shell, shrapnel, minnie balls, bits of broken cannon and other iron material. Foundries had set a price on this product, and it afforded quite a livelihood for a time to the poor about fortified cities and battlefields. “We visited the churchyards and cemeteries at Richmond and Petersburg made historic through the struggles which had taken place in and around those cities. There were a great many burial grounds In those neighborhoods, because the glebes, which were land grants from England to the Episcopal church in America, had still existed as church grants at the time of the Civil war. and were used as burial grounds for the citizens and soldiers. “In the burying ground near Petersburg we saw many hundreds of graves of Confederate soldiers, and they nearly all bore a small; faded flag, and the dark, withered wreaths and remains of their floral decoration of nearly a year before. These mournful mementoes of the bygone tragedy of the South touched me deeply, and on our return home from the tour of the battlefields I told my husbofid of this tribute of the Southern men and women to their soldier dead. “General Logan reciprocated my feeling as to the fitness of the sentiment expressefi. He said that It was a revival of the ancient custom, for the people of ages past in old countries had performed the, rite of decorating the graves of their dead heroes with flowers. He considered the matter for a time, and then said, he did not see why it might not be revived in the case of the fallen Union soldiers. “General Logan, who was then commander in chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, decided that he.would issue an order for the decoration of lhe soldiers’ graves on the following 30th -of May. Sending for General Chipman. adjutant general -of the Grand Army of the Republic, he dictated order No. 11 for the first decoration of. Union soldiers’ graves which </c<t took place in the United Statyff xrhat order is now read at every peroration day ceremony-which takes H'lace over the graves of Union soldiers

who fought in the Civil war. It is as follows,” and Mrs. Logan picked out from the papers she had at hand and read: Headquarters, Grand Army of the Republic, Adjutant General's Office, 416 14th Street, Washington, D. C., May 5, 1868. GENERAL ORDERS, NO. U. 1. The 30th of May,. 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form _Qf ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will, in their dwii way; arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit. We are organized, comrades,- as our regulations 8 tell us, for the purpose, among, other things, ‘‘of preserving and strengthening those kind and fraternal feelings which have bound together the soldiers, sailbrs and marines who united 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 against our country and its foes?' Their soldier lives were the reveille of freedom to a race in chains, and their deaths the tattoo-of rebellious-tyranny in arms. We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. All that the consecrated wealth and taste of the nation can add to-their adornment and security is but a Atting tribute to the memory of her slain defenders. Let no wanton foot tread rudely on such 'hallowed grounds. Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no vandalism or avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic. , ' If other eyes grow dull, and other hands slack, and other hearts cold In the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain to us - . . a Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with the choicest flowers of springtime: let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor: let us In thte solemn presence renew our pledge to aid and assist those whom they have left among us, a sacred charge upon a nation’s gratitude—-the soldier s widow and orphan. 2. It is the purpose of the commander in chief to Inaugurate this' observance with the hope that It will be kept up from vear to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades. He earnestly desires the public press to call attention to this order and lend its friendly aid in bringing It to the notice of comrades in all parts of the country In time for simultaneous compliance therewith. 3. Department commanders will use- every effort to make this order effective. By order of JOHN A. LOGAN, Commander in Chief. N. P. CHIPMAN, • (Official) Adjutant General. WM. T. CODLINS, A. A. G. “The loyal people of the country took most kindly to the idea,” said Mrs. Logan, “and my husband’s anticipations were fully realized by the observance of the day in every state in the Union, the exercises being characterized bv observations very much the same as those which take place today. »-<i ' “After many inquiries and some discussion it was decided that May 30 was probably the most appropriate day for the universal observance of the ceremony In every state in the Union, and General Logan finally succeeded in making the day a national holiday. “On Memorial day there is no distinction made between officers and men. Death, the great leveler, makes them all heroes alike, and plaudits I and blossoms are distributed with equal generosity between the great generals and the privates. “There are few now living who won great honors during the Civil war. All the gceat commanders of armies have passed away, and there are but few left who commanded corps, divisions, brigades or regiments. The patriotic organizations who have so faithfully preserved the memory of their fallen comrades, are also much depleted In membership. It Is therefore, to the men of the younger generation we must look to keep green the memory of those who died to make our nation.”