In a city filled with art, it’s easy to miss the statue of an American soldier tucked away in Chicago’s Grant Park. But that would be a mistake.
I’m in the Windy City today and had the opportunity to see the 1897 statue of General John Alexander Logan. It’s just off Michigan Avenue, near 9th Street. It’s easy to miss if you follow the crowds on their way to see Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Agora but keep looking. You see, as you attend parades and remembrances today for Memorial Day, you have General Logan to thank.
General Logan was born in Illinois in 1826. At the age of 21, Logan signed up for the Army and was stationed at Santa Fe, New Mexico during the Mexican-American War. After the war, he pursued law and politics and was eventually elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where he, quite controversially, was at the forefront of the movement for the state’s “Black Codes,” a series of laws meant to limit the rights of African-Americans (at the time, Illinois might have be a free state by title but not necessarily by practice). He would eventually reverse his position and lead the call for Illinois to join the Union during the Civil War.
In 1858, Logan was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Logan was serving a second term as a Congressman when the Civil War began. Logan went back to military service where he commanded the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was seriously injured in the war in a single campaign that saw half of his men perish.
After the war, Logan returned to Congress as a Major General. Outside of Congress, he helped found the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a powerful veterans’ organization. As part of his duties as the head of the GAR, Logan issued Order Number 11, which established the first Memorial Day in 1868. The Order read, in part:
The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village, and hamlet churchyard in the land. In this observance no form or ceremony is prescribed, but posts and comrades will in their own way arrange such fitting services and testimonials of respect as circumstances may permit.
…
Let us, then, at the time appointed, gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime; let us raise above them the dear old flag they saved from dishonor; let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude, — the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.
General Logan was reportedly given the idea by his wife, Mary, who was inspired by the Southern practice of decorating military graves with flags and flowers by war widows. May 30 was said to be selected because the end of May was a lovely day for flowers, with nice weather finally stretching up towards the northern states.
Memorial Day became a federal holiday for work purposes in 1888. The purpose of designating it as a federal holiday was, according to a Congressional report (downloads as a pdf), to allow “Civil War veterans in federal employ to pay their respects to those who gave their lives in the conflict, without losing a day’s pay.” At that time, there were quite a few federal employees who had previously served in the Union Army during the Civil War.
The day wasn’t officially called Memorial Day until 1967 (it was originally called Decoration Day). While individuals marked the day across the country, the day wasn’t observed uniformly until 1971; Public Law 90-363 was signed by President Johnson on June 28, 1968 with the law taking effect on January 1, 1971. P.L. 90-363 confirmed the dates of certain public holidays: by statute, Memorial Day is always the last Monday in May.
It is also tradition that the flag is quickly raised, then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position in remembrance of those who gave their lives in military service. It only remains at half-staff position until noon; after noon, it is raised to full-staff, where it remains for day.
In December 2000, President Clinton signed P.L. 106-579, creating The National Moment of Remembrance Act. Among other things, the National Moment of Remembrance encourages all American to observe a moment of silence at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. Many organizations join in, including Major League Baseball, which will pause all games for a moment of silence around 3 p.m. local time, a traditional they’ve followed for years.
While the Civil War may have been the bloodiest and deadliest of our wars – and the inspiration for Memorial Day – it was not the last time that our country would experience great loss. We lost more than 100,000 lives in World War I and more than 400,000 in World War II. In the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, we saw more than 35,000 lives lost during the Korean War and nearly 60,000 lives lots in the Vietnam War. More recently, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have taken the lives of more than 6,000 American soldiers.
As for General Logan? He eventually succumbed to those wounds he suffered during the Civil War. He died of complications related to his war injuries on December 26, 1886. When he died, his body was laid in state in the U.S. Capitol Building. At the time, he was only the seventh person to be laid in state there (Sen. Henry Clay, President Abraham Lincoln, Rep. Thaddeus Stevens, Sen. Charles Sumner, Vice President Henry Wilson, and President James Garfield preceded him). By regulation and custom, only Presidents, military commanders, and members of Congress may lie in state at the Capitol. To date, only 31 people have receive that honor.
General Logan is buried in the United States Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery, more commonly known as Soldiers’ Home, in Washington, D.C. The cemetery, one of two national cemeteries maintained by the Department of the Army, is the final resting place for more than 14,000 veterans, including 21 recipients of the Medal of Honor. The other, Arlington National Cemetery, is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families.