Vol. VII, Episode 12

Join Historian Andrew Roscoe and Will as they share with us the humble beginnings of Memorial Day, and how it grew from early instances of local towns remembering war dead to a national level of memorializing those lost in battle.

Memorial Day's Humble Beginnings

Beginning as early as May 1865 in Charleston, SC, various cities and towns held their own versions of what would become Memorial Day in order to honor both Union and Confederate dead.
Other local instances would simultaneously begin across the country, such as in New York, Michigan, Georgia, and Mississippi.
Eventually, the first organization to organize at a national level was the Grand Army of the Republic when in May 1868, they designated May 30th as "Decoration Day."

Special Thank You!

CWDD would like to thank Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum for coordinating with us to film on location as well as the Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums for helping make this episode possible.
The Henry Ford Museum
The Association for Living History, Farm and Agricultural Museums