Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head
of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the
Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the
nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. Maj.
Gen. John A. Logan declared that Decoration Day should be
observed on May 30. It is believed that date was chosen because
flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The first large
observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery,
across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The ceremonies
centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington
mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington
officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided
over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’
and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way
through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and
Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns. Local
Observances Claim To Be Fir