Decoration Day Proclamation

Those attending placed small flags on the graves of veterans.

Decoration day proclamation. Proclamation 1445 decoration day 1918. The proclamation is in consonance with an act of the legislature which was passed on october 24 1916 declaring the second wednesday in march of each year as a decoration day to be celebrated throughout the republic as a national holiday. Garfield 1831 81 then an ohio congressman who had also served as a major general in the civil war. He was commander in chief of the grand army of the republic gar an organization of and for union civil war veterans founded in decatur illinois.

On may 5 1868 general john a. Headquarters grand army of the republic washington d c may 5 1868. Memorial day was first widely observed on may 30 1868 by proclamation of general john logan of the grand army of the republic an organization of civil war veterans. Before it became the national holiday we now know as memorial day it was a day celebrated across the country for at least five decades as decoration day a day to honor both the union and.

Logan of the grand army of the republic issued the 1868 proclamation declaring the first decoration day which was celebrated with a large memorial observance at arlington national cemetery with about five thousand attending. Before strewing flowers upon the graves of the dead the crowd listened to an address by james a. On the first decoration day general james garfield made a speech at arlington national cemetery after which 5 000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20 000 civil war. Whereas the congress of the united states on the second day of april last passed the following resolution.

The 30th day of may 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion and whose. Logan issued a proclamation calling for decoration day to be observed annually and nationwide. On may 30 1868 a crowd of 5 000 gathered at arlington national cemetery for the first decoration day exercises. By the president of the united states of america a proclamation.