Evening star., 1923-03-24
Memorial Day of G. A. r. Origin,
Says Reply TO U. ID. e. Historian

lH"Tials Cen. y T.. Chipnan. adjutanc
general during Gen. Logau's IIrSt ad-
nllnistration in 1868 has this TO say of
the establishment OF Memorial day
and Of the observance of decoration
day during the war. He states III
his part OF the History Of the Grand
Army of the Republic that "Decora-
/ ton day had been generally obServ ed
| by the placing Of flowers on III. SOL
dierS' graves during the war. this be-
ing participated in by both Confcd-
crate and Union soldiers" Incidents
are noted where Memorial day was
observed by individual comrades who
placed flowers on the graves of their
dead comrades in the early Towering Z
season during the war. Adjt. Gen.
chipman in a recent statement,
! think about the latter part of 1922
said that early in May or the latter
part OF April. 1865. he received d let
ter from "A private soldier in the
gotten. and in that letter the soldier
| states that in his native country, Ger
many, il was the custom OF the people
to assemble in the spring TO scatter
MOWERS upon the graves of the dead.
Suggested Something of Kind.
He suggested that the Grand Army
of the Republic inaugurate something
OF the sort in the memory of the
! dead. Gen. Chipman liked the sug-
sestion and states that It came most
| opportuneiy and he made a rough
draft Of general order covering this
subject and laid it with the letter
referred To before Cen Logan. Gen.
Chapman states: Gen. Logan greatly
approved the order and he added sew
eral paragraphs. The date selected.
May 30. was with the idea to use
one of the spring months because Of
their poetiCal associations and also
! to make Il in Il month that il might
| be possible to find flowers in the
New England and extreme northern
states"
In the foregoing ] have stated his
! torical facts. Gen. Logan died many
years ago, but his adjutant general.
y. r Chapman, yet lives and recently
celebrated his eighty-eighth birthday
| in San Francisco. Calf His brain
and mental faculties are as strong
as they ever We're, though the gem
| eral is somewhat feeble In body
These few facts we should keep in
mind. Memorial day was established
| May 5, 1868. by the commanders in
| chief of the Grand Army OF the Re-
| public for the purpose of keeping
| green the memories of men who
| fought under the United States flag
| in the war of the rebellion. 1t is
| strictly of Grand Army origin. Ma
! tional cemeteries were established for
soldiers of that war who died fight
! ing for the Flag and whose bodies
Confederate prisons and reinterred in
| them. Later the national cemetarial
! act was widened to include interment
| in national cemeteries of all men who
! died fighting for the United States flag.
Confederate Burial Places.
| A few years ago by special act of
! Congress ten of our eighty-three ma
! tional cemeteries We're designated AS
burial places for confederate soldiers
! and about 1900 of these are buried
| in the designate national cemeteries.
| While 1t is true that Gen. Logan
did not mention national Gene
| teries' in his general order the
Memorial day thought was wide
enough to take in every Union SOL
| dier's grave in the land. Very shortly
| after the establishment of Memorial
| day the War Department gave into
| the hands of the Grand Army of the
| Republic the matter of decorating the
| graves in national cemeteries, and
until two years ago the superin-
| tendents were exclusively Grand Army
veterans, for a period of fifty-three
| years. The most of these cemeteries
zation of the Grand Army of the
| Republic 1t has spent thousands OF
dollars every year to purchase flowers
| and flags for these national ceme-
| teries. There are sections of the
south where 1T is necessary to buy
| every flower that is placed on the
Union soldiers graves unless adjacent
woods furnish wild flowers, for the
If Miss Rutherford wants any
more real facts about the establish
ment of Memorial day I shall be glad
ISABEL woRREL BALL