By the Numbers - May 19, 2014
1868
The year in which Memorial Day was celebrated for the first time, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
For detailed statistical information about America's wartime Veterans, the U.S. Census Bureau offers a comprehensive infographic.
1868
The year in which Memorial Day was celebrated for the first time, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj. Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country.
The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.
For detailed statistical information about America's wartime Veterans, the U.S. Census Bureau offers a comprehensive infographic.
