Did you know that the celebration of Memorial Day started with the Civil War? It's true!
It was originally called Decoration Day and it began to commemorate the fallen soldiers of both the Union and Confederate armies. (Check out more cool facts on Mental Floss!)
These days, however, we remember and are thankful to soldiers from many different wars and conflicts, not only the Civil War.
Do you have any Civil War veterans in your family tree?
I wasn't sure if I did, but I found an easy way to find the answer.
It started because of a friend in my Civil War class who was very proud of having family members who fought in the war. (Happy, excited proud, not pride proud). And it got me thinking… My mom's mom's family had been in Virginia for generations. Surely I had Civil War vets in my line…
The U.S. National Park Service keeps a database of Civil War soldiers, and it's very easy to use.
To begin, I went through my tree and found probable candidates for war, meaning I looked for men from states that fought in the Civil War who would have been old enough to fight from 1861-1865. (The Civil War is a great point to have on a timeline).
I located some likely ancestors and plugged their names into the data base. The search asks that you guess whether your soldier was fighting for the Union or Confederacy, and since my family was from Virginia I knew they would have fought for the Confederacy. After a few guesses, and trial and error… I found someone!
It was so exciting! I had an ancestor who fought in the Civil War! He lived and took part in a major part of history- that's amazing!
Once I had his page with information I was able to add it to his Family Search page. BAM! Now when I view my ancestor on my family tree it also shows his service record.
Memorial Day can be an exciting day to think back on those who came before us and fought so we could enjoy the peace and freedoms we have today.
Perhaps you have a close family member who served and you want to remember them too. Today would be a great day to pull up their Family Search page and write some memories. Especially with families gathering today for this holiday, it could be a good time to talk about family history.
I know that I'm thankful to my Civil War vet ancestor as well as my three grandfathers, and many uncles for their service. I'm grateful for my family, and this special day to remember all that they did.
Here's a gorgeous picture of the Washington Monument through Cherry Blossoms on the Potomac River. During the Civil War many men marched through the Nation's Capital to reach battles in the South.
Freedom in not free.
A younger me at the Lincoln Memorial. Grateful to Abraham Lincoln and his hand in keeping the Union together.
Happy Memorial Day and Happy Hunting!
I have ancestors who fought for the South too.
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