05/25/2026
Memorial Day is a federal holiday dedicated to mourning members of the U.S. Armed Forces who were killed in service to their nation. Interred residents of Historic Congressional Cemetery who gave the ultimate sacrifice include Col. Trueman Cross (1846), Master’s Mate Stephen M. Carey (1864), and Lt. Calvin B. Meyers (1944).
What we know as Memorial Day today evolved from Decoration Day. The earliest Decoration Day celebration was held on May 1, 1865 in Charleston, South Carolina. In these waning days of the Civil War, approximately 10,000 people, mostly comprised of the freed Black community, engaged in a series of activities to honor fallen members of the Union Army. 3,000 Black schoolchildren from the newly-established Freedman’s Bureau schools paraded and sang “John Brown’s Body.” Black and white men and women followed, and demonstrations were conducted by soldiers that included the 54th Massachusetts Infantry. Black ministers read from the Bible. These festivities occurred at a former racetrack that had been used as a prison camp and, in turn, the mass grave of imprisoned Union troops. Days prior, 28 Black men worked to re-bury the unidentified troops in proper graves. They surrounded the burial site with a fence, and erected an entryway arch that read, “Martyrs of the Racecourse.” The May 1st activities included laying flowers on the soldiers’ graves.
In the ensuing years, Black communities throughout the US engaged in similar activities at their respective cemeteries. On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic veterans organization issued General Order No. 11, which designated May 30th of that year “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[.]” It later became a codified tradition, now held on the last Monday of May.
Though Memorial Day is intended to specifically honor members of the US Armed Forces who died in the line of duty, often cemeteries decorate the graves of all veterans for the holiday. Memorial Day has morphed over a century and a half, but it remains an occasion of respect and reflection.
