Decoration Day

[Sons of Liberty]

Civil War Memorial in Decatur, Illinois.

"It all began with the Grand Army of the Republic, which called for the creation of Decoration Day in 1868, a commemoration that would eventually morph into the Memorial Day we honor today. So the GAR gave us Memorial Day, and a march back through history shows Decatur, Illinois gave us the GAR.

The veterans organization for Union soldiers who served in the Civil War was actually the brainchild of Maj. Benjamin F. Stephenson, who lived in Springfield. His idea was to create something that could pool resources
to help the hungry and poor widows and orphans left behind by his fellow soldiers killed in the war.

Strangely, Stephenson also planned for the organization to be hush-hush with "secret ritual," a kind of uniformed Masons with ceremonial muskets. He needed a printer to print up the ritual rules but wanted the printers to be veterans, so everything would stay on a need-to-know basis. Comrades informed him that there were two veterans living in Decatur who were engaged in the printing trade.

The printers became so enthused with the idea they prevailed upon the Major to found the Grand Army of the Republic in Decatur, Illinois. The GAR was officially mustered into being April 6, 1866, with Post No. 1 establishing its first meeting place at what was then 253 S. Park St. next to Central Park. The secret ritual bit was dropped along the way as the GAR's numbers began to swell. Hundreds of members would eventually join the Decatur post, and the GAR's national ranks had expanded to 445,000 by 1892."

(From Decatur Herald -n- Review newspaper.)

 

[MajGenl.Meade]

I have just devised this for the family fun later today:


WHO WANTS TO BE A MEMORIALANAIRE?

1. MEMORIAL DAY WAS ORIGINALLY NAMED:

A. MEMORIAL DAY

B. DECORATION DAY

C. REMEMBERANCE DAY

D. SUSAN


2. MEMORIAL DAY ORIGINATED IN CEREMONIES TO RECOGNISE THE DEAD OF WHICH WAR?

A. THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1775-1783)

B. THE ANGLO-U.S. WAR (1812-1815)

C. THE WAR OF THE REBELLION (1861-1865)

D. THE WAR OF JENKIN'S EAR (1739 – 1748)


3. WHICH WAS THE FIRST STATE TO ADOPT THE DAY AS AN OFFICIAL HOLIDAY?

A. MICHIGAN

B. OHIO

C. NEW YORK

D. THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA


4. UNTIL 1971 MEMORIAL DAY WAS OBSERVED ON MAY 30TH; WHY WAS MAY 30TH CHOSEN?

A. IT WAS THE BEST TIME FOR SPRING FLOWER BLOOMS

B. NO BATTLES HAD BEEN FOUGHT ON THAT DAY

C. MERCHANTS AND BUSINESSES WANTED A HOLIDAY TO MARK THE BEGINNING OF THE SUMMER SEASON

D. ALL THE OTHER DATES WERE TAKEN BY SOMETHING


5. HOW MANY U.S. MILITARY DEATHS ARE COMMEMORATED ON MEMORIAL DAY?

A. 850,000 – 1,190,000

B 1,270,000 – 1,400,000

C. 1,500,000 – 1,800,000

D. MEMORIAL DAY COMMEMORATES ALL WHO HAVE SERVED – NOT JUST THOSE WHO DIED


6. WHEN WAS THE NAME "MEMORIAL DAY" FIRST USED?

A. 1796

B. 1827

C. 1882

D. 1967


7. WHERE DOES THE NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT TAKE PLACE?

A. WEST LAWN OF THE WHITE HOUSE

B. WEST LAWN OF THE CAPITOL

C. WEST LAWN OF THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL

D. WEST LAWN OF THE WASHINGTON CHUCK E. CHEESE


8. IN THE SOUTHERN STATES THE FIRST MEMORIAL DAY OBSERVATIONS BEGAN IN:

A. WINCHESTER, VA 1865 BY LADIES' MEMORIAL ASSOC.

B. CHARLESTON, SC 1865 BY EX-SLAVES

C. COLUMBUS, GA 1866 BY LADIES' MEMORIAL ASSOC.

D. STOP! YOU'RE ALL CORRECT!


9. WHICH UNITED STATES GENERAL PROPOSED AN ANNUAL NATIONAL DAY OF REMEMBERANCE AND WHEN?

A. GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON 1795

B. GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT 1822

C. GENERAL JOHN LOGAN 1868

D. GENERAL MOTORS 1933


10. WHICH COMMUNITY DID THE 89TH CONGRESS OF THE U.S. (1965-7) AND PRESIDENT L. B. JOHNSON (1966) DECLARE TO BE THE OFFICIAL "FIRST" TO OBSERVE MEMORIAL DAY?

A. AUSTIN, TX

B. BOALSBURG, PA

C. WATERLOO, NY

D. NOWHERE, OK