From State Rep. Dan Ugasta:
Memorial Day’s roots in Illinois
The family tradition of Memorial Day had its start with the custom of gathering in places of eternal rest to pay tribute to our kinfolk, especially those who have fought in America’s wars. Many flags in Illinois will be lowered to half-staff on Memorial Day to honor their sacrifice.
Memorial Day, with its roots in Illinois’ Civil War effort, has an honored place in Land of Lincoln history. Even before the Civil War was over, Americans were spontaneously gathering in springtime to strew flowers and honor the war dead from the conflict that had been fought in 1861-1865.
Then an Illinois man, John A. Logan, stepped in.
After the Civil War, General Logan had been elected to be the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, a band of Union Army veterans, to lead and organize the commemoration of the war effort and the sacrifices made by American veterans.
Logan’s goal was to standardize these springtime gatherings, and to create a space for parades and other acts of collective remembrance.
Only three years after Lee’s surrender, in early 1868, General Logan issued the GAR General Order No. 11.
This document advised Union veterans and their families to center their observances on May 30, 1868, as a day to decorate the graves of their fellow soldiers.
The creation of Illinois’ John A. Logan became a U.S. federal holiday in 1971.
After the passage of more than a century, Memorial Day had become a day to honor all American soldiers’ graves, including soldiers who had fought in World War I and World War II.
To help Americans carry out these honors, the 1971 law transferred Memorial Day from May 30 to make it the last Monday in May of each year.
In 2025, Memorial Day was observed on Monday, May 26.
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The 1971 law was sponsored by McHenry County’s Congressman Robert C. McClory.
