We sometimes forget that today’s Memorial Day came directly from Decoration Day, which originated to honor the dead of the Civil War. There has been a great deal of discussion about who originated it. In a recent article, Professor Richard Gardner takes a close look at the subject:
In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country.
The holiday was Memorial Day, an annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead.
Worth a read on this special day. As for myself, I will be having a toast to friends I lost in Vietnam, to an Uncle lost in Korea, and to my Civil War ancestor Jason Patton, killed at Winchester in 1864.
Rest in peace, all of you.
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