Monticello's Memorial Day Parade, May 30, 1919. By proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, the first major Memorial Day observance was held the 30th of May, 1868 to honor those who died "in defense of their country during the late rebellion." Known to some as "Decoration Day," mourners honored the Civil War dead by decorating their graves with flowers. After World War I it was renamed Memorial Day and continues as a day to remember the dead from all American wars.