Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson puts his hand on his chest while musicians perform “Taps” during the 29th Annual Major General John A. Logan Memorial Day Commemoration at Grant Park on Monday.

John Sheehan, a veteran of the U.S. Coastguard, holds an American flag during the 29th Annual Major General John A. Logan Memorial Day Commemoration at Grant Park on Monday. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times ...

Originally called Decoration Day, it was created in 1868 by Union Gen. John A. Logan as a nationwide day of mourning. May 30 was chosen because it didn’t mark a specific Civil War battle, ...

According to the National Cemetery Administration, the first national observance took place on May 30, 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic called for a day to decorate ...

From the podium shrouded in a mourning drape in front of the VFW post along Columbia Avenue during Monday morning’s ceremony, Magala read the entirety of the 1868 order by Gen. John A. Logan ...

Lawyer-historian John Peters — in “Blandford Cemetery, Death and Life in Petersburg, Virginia” — reports that Mary Logan, wife of Gen. John A. Logan, leader of the Grand Army of the ...

Minor read Gen. John A. Logan’s General Orders No. 11, otherwise known as the Memorial Day Order. Logan issued the directive on May 5, 1868, ...

The first national observance occurred on May 30, 1868, when General John A. Logan called for a day to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers with flowers.

The first national observance occurred on May 30, 1868, when General John A. Logan called for a day to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers with flowers.

General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic had called for a day to adorn gravesites with flowers. Eventually, the holiday embraced all American military personnel who perished in service.

The event became known as “Decoration Day,” and then General John A. Logan decreed that “The 30th day of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers or otherwise ...