This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Memorial Day origins traced from Columbus flowers to national tribute
A 1867 New York paragraph praised Columbus Mississippi women for placing flowers on Confederate and Union graves. The piece notes this helped heal postwar wounds and led to May 30 as a memorial holiday, with Garfield’s Arlington address and Pryor’s Brooklyn speech shaping Decoration Day into a national tribute. Memorial Day evolves through wars and eras, honoring the fallen across the nation.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
New York
Columbus
Miss
New York Times
Chipman
John A. Logan
Grand Army of the Republic
Women of Columbus
Biss
Ithaca
Francis MM. Finch
Chauncey
Depew
North
Arlington
Logan
James A. Garfield
United States
Cleveland
Oio
James A. Garreld
Tlowers
Mongment Cemetery
Philadelphia
Poet 2
Department of Pennsylvania
G. A. St
Academy of Music
Brooklyn
Stoger A. Pryor
Academy
Pryor
Urim Reaper