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The Blue & the Gray:
How Memorial Day Helped Unify Our Nation After the Civil War
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On May 30, 1868, a crowd wound its way through Arlington National Cemetery, praying, singing hymns, and laying flowers on Union and Confederate graves alike, marking the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington.
The ceremony provided hope for reunification in a country still recovering from the most devastating war to ever occur in American history.
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The Civil War killed some 620,000 men, equivalent to the number of soldiers who died in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and the Korean Wars all combined (around 625,000 men). Additionally, countless survivors suffered from permanent injuries; it is estimated that 1 in 13 survivors returned home with at least one amputation.
Remembrance in the Aftermath of the Civil War
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Before the national holiday, "Decoration Day" ceremonies were held locally to honor the war dead with the laying of flowers at their gravesides. These tributes to the fallen helped reunify northerners and southerners in their mourning.
(photo courtesy of the LOC)
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In April 1866, one of the most famous instances of this occurred in Columbus, Mississippi as a southern ladies' association placed flowers on the graves of Confederate soldiers. Noticing the empty, neglected graves of Union soldiers nearby, the ladies took pity on the soldiers that had died so far from home and decorated their graves as well. This act of reconciliation and love for fellow Americans helped reunify northerners and southerners in their mourning and touched the hearts of many, inspiring F.M. Finch's 1867 poem in The Atlantic, "The Blue and the Gray."
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History can always teach us something about the present, but only if it remains a priority. Without knowledge of our predecessors' sacrifices, we have no basis to make important decisions about our country's future.
JMC supports those teachers who are championing education in America's history and its founding principles. Our growing network of more than 900 dedicated professors are making a difference on hundreds of campuses across the country. So far, they have taught more than one million students. Will you help us reach more?
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About the Jack Miller Center
The Jack Miller Center is a 501(c)(3) public charity with the mission to reinvigorate education in America's founding principles and history. We work to advance the teaching and study of America's history, its political and economic institutions, and the central principles, ideas and issues arising from the American and Western traditions—all of which continue to animate our national life.
We support professors and educators through programs, resources, fellowships and more to help them teach our nation's students.
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