Memorial Day, the federal holiday observed on the last Monday in May falls on May 25 this year. The holiday is to honor and mourn the military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. It originated as Decoration Day following the Civil War.
Decoration Day was first observed on May 30, 1868. Originally the observance honored the nation’s Civil War dead by decorating their graves.
During the first celebration of Decoration Day, Gen. James Garfield (later the 20th president of the United States) made a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, after which 5,000 participants helped to decorate the graves of the more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there.
This 1868 celebration was inspired by local observances of the day in towns throughout America that had taken place in the three years since the Civil War ended. By the late 1800s, communities across the country had begun to celebrate Memorial Day and, after World War I, observances honored those who had died in all of America’s wars. In 1971, Congress declared Memorial Day a national holiday to be celebrated the last Monday in May.
Fort Bliss National Cemetery, 5200 Fred Wilson Avenue, will begin its Memorial Day program at 9 a.m. prompt.
The following is a look at how El Paso honored the fallen in 1900. This article is from the El Paso Times, May 31 of that year:
“Cover them over with beautiful flowers,Deck with garlands these heroes of ours.”
Yesterday was Memorial Day and was observed in El Paso in a more elaborate manner than on any previous Memorial Day in the history of the city.
The survivors of three wars gathered in the park to salute the flag and then repaired to the two cemeteries to decorate with flowers the graves of comrades who have “crossed over the river to rest in the shade of the trees.” General A.G. Malloy led the white headed G.A.R. (Grand Army of the Republic) veterans, Judge Winham Kemp marched at the head of the silver-haired veterans of the Confederacy and Dr. W.N. Vilas, who followed old glory in two wars led the youthful survivors of the Spanish war, while Judge R.J. Carr, a veteran of the Mexican war and who also followed Lee, wearing the gray, rode in a carriage.
At 9 o’clock yesterday morning the call of a bugle sounding the “assembly” rang out its martial strains through the city and soon hundreds of people assembled in front of the courthouse on San Antonio street, where the parade formed and marched down San Antonio street in the following order:
General L.M. Oppenheimer and staff.
McGinty band.
Border Rifles Co. “B,” 4th Infantry Texas Volunteer Guard.
Emmett Crawford Post G.A. R., Commander, A.J. Malloy
Jno. C. Brown Camp United Confederate Veterans, Commander, Wyndham Kemp.
Spanish War Veterans, Maj. Villas.
Mexican War Veterans in carriages.
Mayor Magoffin, Consul Mallen, Judge Harper and Capt. R.J. Castro of the Mexican army in carriages.
Capt. Loughborough of Fort Bliss, rode as the head of the column with Gen. Oppenheimer and
Lieutenant Dodge of Fort Bliss was tendered by Captain O’Keefe, the post of honor at the head of the Border Rifles.
The veterans of the civil war in line were as follows:
G.A.R.-Gen. A.G. Malloy, O.P. Owens, F.E. Trusten, W.T. Kichen, W.N. Vilas, L.M. Buford, T.H. Logan, J.N.
Smith, Z.S. Johnson, F.D. Featherly, Moses Dillon, H.D. Guillard, G.M. McConaughey, J.H. Ware, E.P. Lowe,
G.G. Briggs, John D. Davis, J.G. Wilcox, P. Durack, Wm. Johnson, H.A.J. Cole, W.H. Robinson, H.J. McKie, John Baugh.
Ex-Confederates-W. Kemp, P.E. Edwards, Jas. H. White, H.F. Stacy, A.L. Justice, T.J. Beall, J.T. Nesom, B.F.
Majors, Jack Catlin, J. Caldwell, J.M. Ellis, I.S. Moodie, P.J. Clark, Wm. Martin, Joseph Magoffin, Mr. Creswell.
The column passed down San Antonio street to El Paso street, to St. Louis and east on St. Louis street to the plaza and through the plaza to the flag, around which the veterans, soldiers and band formed a circle.
The bugler then sounded the “reveille,” and as the last note of the bugle died away in the distance the band began playing the “Star Spangled Banner” as the flag was hauled to the top of the pole while the great crowd of people, and soldiers and veterans stood with uncovered heads.
After the flag had been raised Captain T.J. Beall was introduced and delivered one of the most eloquent and appropriate memorial addresses ever heard in Texas. His apostrophe to the flag and Columbia was a magnificent burst of impassioned oratory. Captain Beall started out with an eloquent eulogy on Washington and Jefferson which he closed with a glowing tribute to the grand principles of the Constitution from which this government derived its existence.
The speaker then referred to the contest between the blue and the gray, a struggle, he said, which for fierceness and deeds of valor, history offered no parallel. It was brother against brother, and each side so confident of the justness of his cause that they fought until every flower bending to the breeze in the valleys of Virginia was stained with the blood of heroes.
Today he said, these men and brothers are reunited, and the white headed old veterans of both sides would, should occasion require, again go to the front and fight shoulder to shoulder in defense of that grand old flag now floating over a united country. “Our country,” said he, “is a child of the storm. It was born amid the carnage of battle and was rocked in the cradle of war.”
At the conclusion of Captain Beall’s speech Mrs. Captain Pitt of the Salvation Army, sang “The Hero of Cavalry” to the air of “America,” and her sweet voice was enthusiastically applauded. During the singing General Oppenheimer passed round his hat among those in the band stand and coin for the sweet singer rained into the hat.
The band played a funeral dirge as the flag was lowered to half staff after which the parade was reformed and returned to the courthouse where it was disbanded.
A committee of G.A.R. and Confederate veterans accompanied by a firing squad from the Border Rifles went out to Evergreen and Concordia cemeteries. The veterans strewed the graves of dead comrades with flowers, after which the firing squad composed of Sergeant Bernauer, Corporal Green, Privates Schutz, Smith, Baird, Sparks and Delgardo, fired a salute over each grave and after sounding taps withdrew.
The Evening Exercises
At 6:30 o’clock yesterday afternoon the veterans, soldiers and band again assembled in front of the courthouse. The column was formed as in the morning, taking the same line of march returned to the plaza. The flag was raised from half staff and the trumpeter sounded the retreat. As the bugle hushed the band struck up “The Star Spangled Banner,” and the flag was slowly lowered to the ground while the soldiers stood at “attention,” the officers at “present” and the veterans and spectators saluted with uncovered heads.
The trumpeter then sounded “taps” and the column reformed and marched back to the courthouse where the parade was dismissed.
Trish Long may be reached at tlong@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso observed Memorial Day in 1900 with a parade, bugles and speeches
Reporting by Trish Long, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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