In Memoriam

Today, we take a moment to remember those who gave their lives for our nation. Memorial Day has its origins in the years following the Civil War when families from both the North and the South adorned the graves of their fallen with flowers. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website notes: "The concept of decorating the graves of Civil War soldiers — both Union and Confederate — began in Columbus, GA, where the city cemetery was neglected. A Ladies Memorial Association was established to improve it, which involved a media campaign. Secretary Mary Ann Williams' letter was first published in the local newspaper on March 11, 1866, proposing 'to set apart a certain day to be observed...and be handed down through time as a religious custom of the country, to wreathe the graves of our martyred dead with flowers.'

On May 5, 1868, the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), a politically influential group of Union veterans led by Major General John A. Logan, issued General Orders No. 11, also known as the "Memorial Day Act." Logan's General Orders No. 11 urged the nation to always remember the human cost of the Civil War: 'We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.'

There are many birds named after men who served in the Civil War. Couch's Kingbird, Cassin's Kingbird, McCown's Longspur and Hammond's Flycatcher are just a few examples. The American Ornithological Society announced in 2023 that it will begin the process of changing the common names of birds that are currently named directly after people. The McCown's Longspur is now the Thick-billed Longspur.

No matter how you react to the name changes it is important to remember the history of our country and all who served and paid the greatest price.

Bald Eagle by Mary Anne Morris