After the U.S. Civil War between the north and the south, soldiers finally returned to their homes and families. Many came back with severe injuries and missing limbs, others were not so fortunate and died fulfilling their duties. Henry Welles of Waterloo N.Y. came up with an idea to remember the fallen soldiers by closing all the shops and visiting the soldiers' graves. Retired Major General Jonathan A. Logan also organized surviving war veterans as they headed to the cemetery to place flags on the graves of their departed comrades. It was then called Decoration Day.
In 1868, these two celebrations were united and was celebrated on May 30. In 1882, the name Decoration Day was changed to Memorial Day and now encompassed all the soldiers who served in previous wars. President Richard Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday in 1971 to be celebrated on the last Monday of the month of May.
Since then Memorial Day has been a day of remembering and honoring all the brave men and women soldiers who served their country.
Memorial Day Sheet Music
- America the Beautiful
- Battle Cry of Freedom
- Battle Hymn of the Republic
- Star Spangled Banner Version 1, Version 2, Version 3 (Page 1), Version 3 (Page 2) and Version 4 (Guitar chords)
- The Ballad of the Green Beret
- Yankee Doodle
New Song Addition:
More sheet music available at free-scores.com, 8notes.com, www.pitt.edu, sheetmusicusa.com and zepperfan.tripod.com. Visit these websites for more music sheets.
