Evening star., 1938-05-29
D.
BEGINNING OF MEMORIAL DAY
Army Order Signed by Gen. Logan Was Issued From
Washington Headquarters- Statues of Lincoln
Atlantic and Pacific Coasts.

Wibon. editor ct the Chicago Journal.
accompanied by his niece and his
fiancee, Miss Farrar Of Boston. our
daughter Dallie and baby son. John
A. Logan, jr., in q church yard near
Petersburg we saw hundreds Of graves
Of Confederate soldiers. These graves
had upon them small. bleached Con-
federate flags, faded flowers and
wreaths that had been laid upon them
by loving hands on the occasion Of
their Decoration Day. Upon our re-
turn, Gen. Logan was much interested
in our account Of what we had seen.
and I remarked to him had never
been so touched as was by seeing the
little flags and the withered flowers
that had been laid on these graves.
AT this, Gen. Logan said it was
beautiful revival Of the custom Of the
ancients in thus preserving the mem-
ory of the dead, and that he, as COM
mander In chief OF the Grand Army
Of the Republic. would issue an order
for the decoration of the graves OF
Union soldiers-and Col. Wilson,
heartily approving of the plan. said
he would be glad to exploit it in his
paper in Chicago. Gen. Logan sent
for Gen. Chapman, then adjutant gen.
eral of the G.. A. R., and dictated Order
No. IL for the first decoration of Union
soldiers that ever took place In the
United States"
THE act of Congress establishing
Decoration Day-as the act puts
it-as a public holiday in the District
of Columbia did not become q law
until August /. 1888. However. from
the very first the Government depart
ments in Washington were closed by
executive action, the first order ad-
dressed to Gen. Chapman reading:
Dear Sir: The President directs
me to acknowledge the receipt of your
communication of the 26th instant.
and to inform you that, cheerfully
complying with your request. he has
issued the accompanying order to the
heads of the several executive de-
partments Of the Government.
w. u. MOOHE, secretary.
Then follows the order issued by the
President on the same day, which
reads:
The chairman of the Committee
of Arrangements having requested
that an opportunity may be given
to those employed in the several
executive departments Of the Govern
ment to unite with their fellow citi-
zens in paying fitting tribute to the
memory of the brave men whose re-
mains repose in the national ceme-
teries, the President directs that, as
far as may be consistent With law
and public interest, persons who de-
sire to participate in the ceremonies
be permitted to absent themselves
from their ddties on Saturday. the
30th instant.
wv. G. MOORE, Secretary"
THAT first Memorial Day was a
very solemn occasion, as it was
intended to be. and should always be,
and to the sacred shrine of Arlington
many Of those left behind solemnly
winded their tread to decorate the
graves of their deceased loved ones
the soldier dead who had sacrificed
their lives upon the altar Of patriotism
that this country might not perish
from the earth.
Arlington, Of course. was the prin-
cipal national cemetery. and where the
largest number of soldiers and sailors
were buried. for although the first
burial took place there about May 13.
1864. and this one a Confederate SOL
dier, yet it was not long before the
200 acres set apart for cemeterial pur-
poses became an actual city of the
dead, and naturally this place at
tracted the greater number of members
of the Grand Army, quite numerous
at that time.
THE STAR of May 80, 1868, In
speaking of the exercises held
that date, had this to say:
The decoration of the Union SOL