Commemoration of the American Civil War

The Commemoration of the American Civil War is a statement of American memory, with repercussions in local and regional history. People have shaped memories of the war according to their political, social and cultural needs, starting with the Gettysburg Address and 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.

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.

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. Gallagher and Nolan say:

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.

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