The first recorded organized public recognition of the war dead occurred on May 1, 1865, in Charleston, South Carolina. On that day, Freedmen (freed southern slaves) celebrated the service of the 257 Union soldiers buried at the Washington Race Course (now Hampton Park). They labeled the gravesite “Martyrs of the Race Course.” African Americans continued that tradition and named the celebration Decoration Day.
Southern states began their own commemoration to honor their soldiers who died during the war. No specific date was used but occurred in late April through June. By 1880, there was a more organized Confederate Memorial Day. These celebrations honored specific soldiers to commemorate the Confederate “Lost Cause.” By 1913, a sense of nationalism saw a commemoration of all soldiers that have died in battle.

2018 World War I Centennial Commemorative Silver Medal – Air Service (Image courtesy of the U.S. Mint)
The modern Memorial Day is a holiday celebrating the lives of those sacrificed in defense of the United States and its ideals at home and abroad. Today, we honor the memories of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, from the days of the revolution to the conflicts in around the world, so that I have the freedom to write this blog and you can read and share it amongst your friends.

Christian Jacobs, 5, of Hertford, N.C., dressed as a Marine, places a flag in front of his father’s gravestone on Memorial Day in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on May 30, 2016. Christian’s father Marine Sgt. Christopher James Jacobs died in a training accident in 2011. (Image: Carolyn Kaster/AP via Mashable)