The commemoration of the American Civil War is based on the memories of the Civil War that Americans have shaped according to their political, social and cultural circumstances and needs, starting with the Gettysburg Address and the dedication of the Gettysburg cemetery in 1863. Confederates, both veterans and women, were especially active in forging the myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy.
The five major Civil War battlefield parks operated by the National Park Service (Gettysburg, Antietam, Shiloh, Chickamauga/Chattanooga and Vicksburg) had a combined 3.1 million visitors in 2018, down 70% from 10.2 million in 1970. Attendance at Gettysburg in 2018 was 950,000, a decline of 86% since 1970.
Memorial Day
Most of the war dead are buried at Arlington National Cemetery and other national cemeteries near the battle zones. Memorial Day (or "Decoration Day") originated shortly after the American Civil War to commemorate the Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. The Confederates set up a different day at first but then merged it into the national holiday. By the 20th century, Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died while in the military service.
Lost Cause of the Confederacy
The Lost Cause is the literary and intellectual movement that sought to reconcile the traditional white society of the South to the defeat of their new nation. Gary W. Gallagher and military historian Alan T. Nolan say: The architects of the Lost Cause acted from various motives. They collectively sought to justify their own actions and allow themselves and other former Confederates to find something positive in all-encompassing failure. They also wanted to provide their children and future generations of white Southerners with a 'correct' narrative of the war.
Grant's Tomb
The death of General Ulysses S. Grant in 1885 was the occasion for commemoration. A funeral train carried the body to New York City, where a quarter of a million people viewed in the two days prior to the funeral. His pallbearers included Union Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and Philip Sheridan, Confederate Generals Simon Bolivar Buckner and Joseph E. Johnston, Admiral David Dixon Porter, and John A. Logan, the head of the GAR. His body was laid to rest in the General Grant National Memorial ("Grant's Tomb"), the largest mausoleum in North America. Attendance at the New York funeral topped 1.5 million. Ceremonies were held in other major cities around the country.
Gettysburg Battlefield
The Gettysburg battlefield, dedicated by President Lincoln who presented his iconic Gettysburg Address there in November 1863, contains hundreds of memorials to the regiments that fought there. Army veterans created the Gettysburg Battlefield Memorial Association in 1864, making it one of the earliest historic preservation organizations in the U.S. The battlefield is under the control of the national park Service and is a major tourist destination.
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington was dedicated in 1922. It has become one of the most visited war memorials. It has been the site of many famous celebrations of freedom, most notably Marian Anderson's 1939 Concert and Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech.
American Civil War Centennial (100)
The shadow of ongoing conflict during the Civil Rights Movement affected implementation of the 100-year commemorative activities. Neither Congress nor President Dwight D. Eisenhower were interested in a risking debate over single, unified, national theme for the commemoration, so the official interpretive work was carried out by the various state commissions.
At the national Commission, key members urged different priorities. Emory University Professor Bell I. Wiley recommended a major effort to document and preserving information from historic letters, newspapers and public documents. Ulysses S. Grant III, the first chairman, wanted to emphasize large-scale events that appealed to the public, such as "sham battles" or reenactments. Businessman Karl Betts, the first executive director of the commission, looked for ways it could spur economic development. They all agreed on a Cold War consensus to the effect that all good Americans were ideologically united, with the result that potentially divisive civil rights issues were not emphasized. The National Park Service was in overall charge; it wanted Congress to appropriate more money to re-landscape and interpret major battlefields along traditional lines. The Post Office issued a series of noncontroversial commemorative stamps to mark the centennial.