Memorial Day: A Union General's Vision

The bloodiest conflict in American history became the impetus for one of the country's most solemn observances.  Known originally as Decoration Day, it was an occasion for festooning soldiers graves with flowers and for reciting prayers.  Small flags often garnished the cemetery plots.

The tradition, begun in the 1860's, honored those who died in the American Civil War.  Official estimates of that era calculated that 620,000 young men lost their lives in the struggle that sometimes pitted brother against brother. Historians today put the unofficial death toll closer to 850,000.

The casualties represented roughly two percent of the country's entire population.  At the height of the war, which lasted from 1861 until April of 1865, there were more than 3.2 million Union and Confederate soldiers waging battles across 34 states (the number at the start of the war.)

It was a brutal conflict where an estimated 1.5 million people were either killed, wounded, captured or reported missing.  For every three soldiers killed in battle, five more died of disease.  The physical and psychological damage inflicted by the violent war was keenly felt for many decades.

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the nation's first national cemeteries sprouted in cities and towns.  The first official celebration of Decoration Day took place in Waterloo, New York, on May 5, 1866. The observance had its roots years earlier in 1862, thanks to the efforts of a Union general.

General John A. Logan, leader of a group called the Northern Civil War Veterans, urged a nationwide day of remembrance for those who had perished in the nation's great war.  He suggested the "strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died" defending their country.

A few of the states remaining in the Union heeded Logan's clarion call. Loosely organized events were held in scattered towns and hamlets. The states of the Confederacy honored their dead separately.  It wasn't until after World War I that all the states held joint nationwide remembrances on the same day.

On the first official Decoration Day in 1866, General James Garfield spoke eloquently at the Arlington National Cemetery, where more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers are buried.  A crowd of 5,000 attended the service, a large gathering considering the hardships of travel of that era.

With the passage of time, the commemoration became known as Memorial Day to honor those who died in subsequent wars.  In 1968, Congress passed a law establishing Memorial Day as the last Monday in May.  But it wasn't until 1971, that it officially became a federal holiday.

Today the country honors the more than 1.2 million soldiers who have died in the nation's wars.  While the Civil War deaths still represent the majority of those killed, not many Americans are aware of that fact.  Most memorials today honor the 405,399 soldiers who died in World War II.

Often forgotten are the 116,516 Americans who lost their lives in World War I.  The Vietnam War's death toll was 58,209.  The Korean War terminated 36,516 American lives. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan added 6,626 lives to the list of casualties.

None of those statistics tell the real story of Memorial Day.  It is a day to remember with reverence each and every service man and woman who sacrificed their lives for the United States. They all deserve a grateful nation's thanks.

Take time today to visit a war memorial or a cemetery.  Touch the name of a fallen soldier etched in stone or marble.  Bow your head and voice a silent prayer.  Remember the name of that soldier and keep that individual near to your heart.