~ Memorial Day Events ~
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1885
Petoskey Cemetery
AND
Harbor Springs Cemetery
Petoskey Cemetery
AND
Harbor Springs Cemetery
Memorials to the FOUNDER of Memorial Day
(Text of article is typed out below the article for easier reading)
(Text of article is typed out below the article for easier reading)
"When Mrs. John A. Logan, widow of the famous Civil war leader recently announced that she would donate to the state of Illinois - for deposit in the state capitol at Springfield or elsewhere - the relics, trophies and souvenirs that had formed the major portion of the collection in her memorial room, it served to call attention to the fact that the country can boast comparatively few memorials to the man who was responsible for the creation of Memorial Day as we know it. It is not claimed that the idea of Memorial Day originated with Gen. John A. Logan, but certainly to him belongs the credit for inaugurating Decoration Day in May as a definite, fixed annual event of uniform observance in the great majority of states of the Union.
According to most authorities Decoration Day in its primary form had its inception in the south, where the presence of unusual quantities of spring flowers and the sad circumstance of the existence on every hand of burying grounds for the soldier dead of the Union and Confederate service combined to suggest such an annual strewing of the graves with flowers. From Dixie the pretty custom spread to the north and took root in various communities. However there was no general celebration and no fixed date for the placing of the floral tributes until in the year 1868 General Logan, then acting as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, took the initiative that secured for us Memorial Day as we know it in this generation. He issued an order fixing May 30 as the date for the annual Memorial Day exercises and called upon every G.A.R. post in the country to engage in fitting ceremonial and scatter tokens of respect over the last resting places of their comrades in arms. Later the legislatures of various states took up the project and made the designated day a legal holiday.
When we appreciate the very important part that General Logan played in the establishment of one of the most significant holidays on our calendar it is easy to find significance in the circumstance that every year after his death there has come a profusion of floral offerings to the chapel in the national cemetery connected with the National Soldiers’ home at Washington, where the warrior was laid to rest. It has been a matter of regret with some of his comrades that the famous leader of the Army of the Tennessee was not at his death honored with an elaborate monumental tomb such as has been erected over the remains of the other dominant figures i the war for the Union.
And yet in a way it would be difficult to find a more fitting environment for the founder of Memorial Day in his last dreamless sleep. The National Soldiers’ home at Washington was the forerunner of those homes now scattered all over the country and including, of course, the Illinois Soldiers’ home at Danville, where General Logan, as a citizen of Illinois, is always especially honored on Memorial Day and other ceremonial occasions. The national cemetery connected with the first of our national soldiers’ homes is much overshadowed in size by its neighboring national cemetery, Arlington, across the Potomac, yet more than 5,000 Federal dead are buried on the wooded slope where General Logan was laid to rest. Fortunately there are only about three hundred unknown occupants of this silent city and all the graves - including more than two hundred where Confederate soldiers are buried - are decorated alike on Memorial Day by the veterans in blue from the neighboring soldiers’ home.
Easily the most interesting of all the reminders of the personality and career of the founder of Memorial Day are the relics and trophies which for years had place in the Memorial room in the residence of Mrs. John A. Logan at Washington. Here were gathered thousands of objects bearing in one way and another upon the life and public service of the dashing Civil war leader. It is probable that all thought of transferring this unique collection would have been long deferred had not advancing years compelled Mrs. Logan to curtail her domestic responsibilities.
General Logan’s widow has been for years the recipient of a pension of several thousand dollars a year - one of the largest annuities paid by Uncle Sam to any woman except the widows of presidents - and this income, combined with the revenue from her extensive literary work, enabled her to maintain for years a handsome residence on the heights overlooking Washington and the United States capitol building where her late husband had a notable career as United States senator following his service in the army. When, however, the care of this residence became too much for Mrs. Logan some disposition had to be made of the great relic collection which had overflowed the entire house and had occupied in particular one immense room, which was in effect a memorial museum. Included in the collection, it may be explained, are not only the books formerly owned by General Logan and many volumes bearing upon him, as well as countless pictures of the swarthy warrior, but his swords, battle flags, the gifts and decorations bestowed by individual admirers and the United States and foreign governments, and even the mounted figure of the famous war eagle that was so conspicuously identified with Logan’s command during the most trying periods of the war.
Easily the most imposing existing memorial to General Logan is the handsome equestrian statue in bronze which occupies Iowa circle or Logan circle, as it is sometimes called, one of the miniature parks or plazas at the seat of government. This statue, which cost $65,000 was authorized by the congress of the United States in the year 1889. The National Legislature appropriated $50,000 and the Grand Army of the Republic - at the head of which General Logan had been when he originated Memorial Day - donated $15,000.
The Logan statue, which it is believed will be the forerunner of others that will ultimately be erected in other parts of the country, was unveiled in the spring of 1901 in the presence of a most distinguished company and it was on this occasion that the late President McKinley in delivering the principal address of the day remarked: “It is a good token when patriots are honored and patriotism exalted. Monuments which express the nation’s gratitude for great deeds inspire great deeds.”
The figure of General Logan as represented in this statue, 141/2 feet in height, is characterized by vigor and an animation. The general is represented as riding along the line of battle, his sword drawn and carried low in his right hand. He faces toward the south and the horse is represented in the attitude of moving at a slow trot. The pedestal of the statue is 20 feet in height and is adorned with two impressive bronze groups in the form of panels. One group shows General Logan surround by officers of the Army of the Tennessee, while the other panel depicts General Logan in the act of taking the oath of office as United States senator, the oath being administered by Vice-President Arthur. Included in this group are the figures of Cullom, Evarts, Conkling, Morton, Miller, Voorhees and Thurman. On narrow panels on the north and south faces of the pedestal are allegorical figures representative of war and peace.
The Grand Army of the Republic, through the instrumentality of which General Logan secured his most enduring memorial - Memorial Day itself- had its origin in the year 1866, when there was conceived the idea of a national society composed of honorably discharged Union soldiers and sailors whose motto should be “Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty.” Post No. 1, located in the city of Decatur, in General Logan’s own state of Illinois, was formally mustered in in April of that year and the first national encampment was held in Indianapolis in the November following. General Logan was one of the early commanders-in-chief of the new country-wide organization, and it was in less than two years after the new movement had been started that he made use of the infant organization to introduce the idea of a fixed and permanent Memorial Day. General Logan is indeed the best known of all the commanders-in-chief of the great organization of veterans that numbered at one time nearly 410,000 men and his popularity with his comrades in arms was eloquently attested by the fact that he served three terms in the highest office in the gift of the members of the G.A.R."
Premature Fourth of July 1913 Celebration
~ Toy Cannon Hurts Young Floyd McConnell ~
1 June 1959 ~ Petoskey Memorial Rites in Federation Park
1963 ~ 15 Emmet Vets Have Died Since Last Memorial Day
2013
Petoskey ~ Pennsylvania Park
Petoskey ~ Pennsylvania Park
Slide Show (Click "Play" to view)
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~ 27 May 2013, Memorial Day, Pennsylvania Park Events ~
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~ 27 May 2013, Memorial Day, Pennsylvania Park Events ~
2018
Petoskey ~ Pennsylvania Park
Petoskey ~ Pennsylvania Park
Slide Show (Click "Play" to view)
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~ 28 May 2018, Memorial Day, Pennsylvania Park Events ~
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~ 28 May 2018, Memorial Day, Pennsylvania Park Events ~