An attorney serving his second term as a U.S. congressional representative from Illinois was diligently doing his duties for the people when he heard about war breaking out. He knew he had to do something, so he quickly joined the Army and was placed in command of the 31st Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He was known as “Black Jack” by his men and was regarded as one of the ablest officers to enter the army from civilian life. His superiors once commented after one of the battles, “that Logan largely contributed to the success of the day.” This was due to John “Black Jack” Logan’s ability to rally the troops when all seemed lost. Through the course of his service, he was wounded three times and was subsequently promoted to brigadier general for those same armies that he served.
Major General John A. Logan served in the American Civil War for the Union forces. He may be a name that you have never heard of but hopefully, you will know something after today. This lawyer congressman did eventually return to Congress and the Senate and lost a bid as a Vice Presidential candidate in 1884.
What John Logan is most noted for is standing and delivering a speech on May 5, 1868, where he declared the 30th of May to be a day for “Strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country.” He goes on to say, “What can aid more to assure this result than by cherishing tenderly the memory of our heroic dead, who made their breasts a barricade between our country and its foes?” He called it Decoration Day in honor of those fallen men during the Civil War.
We honor that original day of remembrance with Memorial Day today. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “So to the indifferent inquirer who asks why Memorial Day is still kept up we may answer, it celebrates and solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of enthusiasm and faith. It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with enthusiasm and faith is the condition of acting greatly.” He is referring to an earlier statement that he made that said, “We pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for the country in return.”
One of my favorite quotes from Lincoln is “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Acting on the right thing is always more difficult than knowing what the right thing is to do. Let us enjoy the three-day weekend that is afforded us, with the knowledge of the sacrifices of those that served our freedom with “their breasts” as “a barricade between our country and its foes.”
Thanks for your service and see you next Tuesday,
Rob