The "Nation’s Sacrifice: The Origins and Evolution of Memorial Day"

The Nation’s Sacrifice: The Origins and Evolution of Memorial Day
May 24, 2018 by Jessie Kratz, posted in - Civil War

Today’s post comes from John P. Blair with the National Archives History Office.
Public Law 90-363 Monday Holidays
Uniform Monday Holiday Act, June 28, 1968. (General Records of the U.S. Government, National Archives)

On May 28, 2018, our nation observes a federal holiday—Memorial Day—that was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on June 28, 1968, to take effect on January 1, 1971.

Yes, officially Memorial Day as a legal national holiday is only 50 years old. The tradition, however, is much, much older and one that has developed over the last 200+ years.

Since newspapers from Columbia, SC, to Boston and New York picked up this story, some assert that this was the first national call for a Memorial Day. And when the ladies of Columbus decorated graves on April 26, 1866, they claimed to be the first to observe the day. As in the North, who only decorated Union graves, these ladies only decorated the graves of Confederate veterans. When did this truly become a “national” observance?

Sue Langdon Adams, the daughter of Mississippi Senator Robert Adams, when hearing the news of the April 25, 1865, truce ending the war, reportedly wrote a note to the local paper at Jackson asking for women to gather the next day to decorate the graves of their fallen soldiers.


The custom of using Memorial Day to honor all American veterans who gave their lives in sacrifice to our nation did not become commonplace until after World War I. By the mid-20th century it became commonplace for Presidents to issue Memorial Day Proclamations to honor those who have given their lives on the field of battle. Today, some people even honor all veterans who are no longer with us, whether that death took place during conflict or not.

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