Memorial Day History
May 30, 2016
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First, we would like to extend a thank you to all persons who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces. We sincerely thank you for your service.
We invite you to visit the Museum of World Treasures and step into the shoes of these heroes. Our military exhibits range from the camps of the American Civil War, to the trenches of World War I, to the jungles of Vietnam. We also have an extensive military uniform collection as seen in the photo below.
History of Memorial Day
The Civil War claimed more lives than any conflict in U.S. history, requiring the establishment of the country’s first national cemeteries. By the late 1860s, Americans began holding springtime tributes to the countless fallen soldiers, reciting prayers and decorating their graves with flowers.
On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, leader of an organization for Northern Civil War veterans, called for a nationwide day of remembrance later that month. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated 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, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.
Did You Know? Each year on memorial day a national moment of remembrance takes place at 3:00 a.m. local time.
Memorial Day, as Decoration Day gradually came to be known, originally honored only those lost while fighting in the Civil War. But during World War I the holiday evolved to commemorate American military personnel who died in all wars.
Memorial Day continued to be observed on May 30. But in 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which established Memorial Day as the last Monday in May in order to create a three-day weekend for Federal employees. The change went into effect in 1971. The same law also declared Memorial Day a Federal holiday.
The Museum is located at 835 E. 1st Street in Old Town. Please contact us for more information at 316.263.1311 or visit our website www.worldtreasures.org.
