HOUSE Concurrent RESOLUTION 27

(By Delegates Summers, Queen, Hamrick, Miley and Iaquinta)

[Introduced January 23, 2018; Referred to the Committee on Rules]

Making Grafton’s Annual Memorial Day Parade the Official State Memorial Day Parade.

Whereas, The idea of a National Memorial Day was conceived by Mrs. John A. Logan, wife of General John A. Logan, Civil War figure and Congressman from Illinois.  She was deeply impressed and moved after seeing a woman dressed in mourning clothes reverently place a garland of spring blossoms on the grave of a loved one.  She later related the tender scene to her husband and spoke of a national holiday for the dead of the nation.  General Logan in turn introduced a bill in Congress on April 8, 1868, proposing to set aside May 30th as Memorial Day; and

Whereas, The history of the Grafton National Cemetery on Walnut Street goes back to 1865 when Samuel Swinton Burdett, Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic and a Congressman from Iowa, visited Pruntytown.  While visiting, he toured the battlegrounds of the area and conceived the idea of having all war dead in the area reburied in a location accessible from all parts of the new West Virginia, so that those who lost loved ones might visit the graves and pay their respects.  Burdett introduced a bill in Congress to establish a National Cemetery in Northern West Virginia.  The bill was approved and the War Department ordered Major R.C. Bates to select a site.  Bates decided on Grafton because of its location and the availability of the railroad, and contacted the heirs of Alexander Yates for approximately four acres of land between Walnut Street and the Baltimore and Ohio right-of-way in what was called West Grafton.  The deed was recorded in the office of the county clerk in Pruntytown; and

Whereas, Development of national cemeteries began during the Civil War.  During the early years of the war, the dead were buried in field and church yards, or close to the hospitals and prison camps where they died. President Abraham Lincoln, on July 17, 1862, signed legislation which authorized the creation of the first national cemeteries. Grafton National Cemetery was one of 50 cemeteries created after the Civil War and was established in 1867 by an Act of Congress and within two years 1,251 bodies of both Union and Confederate troops of the Civil War were interred in Grafton under the supervision of the U.S. Burial Corps, and 664 of the gravesites are for Unknown Soldiers that are identified by numbered 8 inch square headstones. Burial records indicate only from what state or location the bodies were disinterred. Work on the Grafton National Cemetery started in the early spring of 1867.  Following the completion of two terraces, the War Department sent James Fitzgerald, a Civil War Veteran, to supervise the planting and seeding of trees and shrubbery.  Edward E. Gilbert, a Civil War Veteran from Company H, 12th West Virginia Infantry, was appointed as Superintendent in 1868; and

Whereas, Work on the cemetery was slowed by winter and resumed in the spring of 1868, when Major Bates contacted James Breedlove to exhume the bodies of 68 soldiers who had been buried on upper Maple Avenue and cart them to the new cemetery.  The remaining dead were gathered from various battlefields, camps, and hospitals situated in 32 counties of West Virginia.  Those interred originally represented 14 states which now stands at 24, among them are both white and black, women, children, and 12 members of the famous Volunteer Regiment of the Army who adopted the dress and skill of Zouaves, a body of infantry in the French service noted for their dash and valor; and

Whereas, It was the intention of the Civil War Veterans to dedicate the new Grafton National Cemetery on Saturday, May 30, 1868, to mark the anniversary of May 30, 1861, when General B.F. Kelly entered Grafton to start the opening land engagement of the Civil War.  However, a three-day rain that left the ground muddy forced Captain Daniel Wilson to postpone the dedication ceremonies.  In addition to the rainy weather, trains and Army ambulances bearing disinterred bodies from nearby battlefields streamed into Grafton until bodies were piled high on the ground awaiting reburial. Due to the large number of dead to be buried, the cemetery dedication was postponed once again.  Finally, on Sunday afternoon, June 14, 1868, Captain Wilson aligned Veterans of Company B, 2nd and 17th West Virginians in military formation at Compton’s Corner.  The procession was headed by a small martial band composed of Thomas Gough, fifer of the 5th Calvary, George Hammond, musician of the 12th Infantry, snare drummers Clinton Albright, Millard Carr, Henry Lippencott, Edward W. Walters, and bass drummer Joseph N. Shannon.  The assembled procession moved down St. John Street, across the “Boardwalk”, then across the railroad bridge to West Grafton.  The parade was joined by the citizens of West Grafton and proceeded to march out Pearl Street to the cemetery.  At the cemetery, there were so many unburied bodies still lying on the ground that the procession continued past the cemetery to Handley’s Grove.  At the Grove, Captain Wilson introduced the Reverend George Davidson, Pastor of the Baptist Church, who asked the divine blessing.  The first Memorial Day Address was given by the Honorable Jacob B. Bristor; and

Whereas, The Grafton National Cemetery also has the distinction of having interred here the remains of Private Thornesberry Bailey Brown of the 2nd West Virginia Infantry, the first Union soldier killed by Confederate forces during the Civil War.  On the night of May 22, 1861, Daniel Knight of the Confederate Army was placed as a sentinel at the B & O Railroad where it crosses a small creek near the upper end of Fetterman.  During the night, T. Bailey Brown and Daniel Wilson came down the railroad tracks from Grafton.  When they came near Knight, he called them to halt and they refused to obey.  Brown shot Knight in the ear and Knight returned fire and killed Brown.  A special monument to Private Brown is erected at the Grafton National Cemetery on the first terrace, in addition to a monument off U. S. Route 50 and Riverside Drive near the location he was killed; and

Whereas, Decorating the graves at the Grafton Cemetery began in 1869 when Mayor William Mallonee issued a proclamation asking all citizens to lay aside their tasks at bench, forge, and shops and join the Civil War veterans in observance of “Flower Strewing Day” on the 30th of May.   He requested that those who grew flowers to donate liberally to children who would call for them and place them on the graves.  “Flower Strewing Day” retained the name until 1882, when Reno Post Number 7, Grafton Unit of the Grand Army of the Republic, was organized and adopted the more appropriate name of Memorial Day; and

Whereas, The Grafton National Cemetery contains the remains of over 2,000 graves of men and their dependents, including veterans of the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam.  Plans to purchase additional land to expand the cemetery on Walnut Street did not work out and hard work by veterans from the State of West Virginia resulted in the creation of the West Virginia National Cemetery on land from the former site of the West Virginia Industrial School for Boys at Pruntytown.  The dedication ceremonies took place in 1987 and the West Virginia National Cemetery became the 110th National Cemetery in the system.  The dedication of the Administration and Maintenance Building took place in June of 1991.  A current expansion project began in the fall of 2001 and includes seven new sections with an additional 4,648 developed gravesites and 5,336 sites set aside for future use.  The capacity of the Grafton National Cemetery was reached in 1961, and the West Virginia National Cemetery will have enough gravesites to serve veterans and their families until 2050 with still more room with future development.  The West Virginia Memorial Day Committee held the first Memorial Day Program at the new cemetery in May 1988, under the direction of General Chairman Otis B. Shahan.  The Annual Ceremony is held at 3:00 PM on the Sunday before Memorial Day; and

Whereas, The Annual Memorial Day Program on the holiday designated as Memorial Day by the federal government in the 1970s continues to be held at the Grafton National Cemetery following the Memorial Day Parade.  The parade route follows a tradition that was established in 1890.  During that year, a new bridge was constructed across the Tygart River and assumed its present route down Main Street, across Memorial City Bridge (St. Mary’s Bridge), and up Walnut Street to the Grafton National Cemetery.  In 1961, the Parade basically went backwards through Grafton due to construction of the St. Mary’s Bridge and the Memorial Day Parade again went backwards in 2005 starting at the Grafton Post Office, East on Main Street, across Bridge Street, to Front Street, across the Southside Bridge to Walnut Street. The traditional parade route returned for the 139th Annual Memorial Day Parade; and

Whereas, The highlight of the Annual Memorial Day Parade is the participation of the Taylor County schoolchildren.  Schoolchildren from preschool to Grafton High School seniors take part in the line of march and assist in decorating the graves at Grafton National Cemetery with flowers.  Any citizen of Taylor County who attended Taylor County schools can proudly boast that he or she has marched in the Memorial Day Parade in years past and helped decorate the graves of our nation’s heroes.  Some local families have participated in this observance for five or six generations.  Although schoolchildren have participated with Memorial Day since 1869, it was not until 1896 that Mrs. Maria Leads had the schoolchildren placed in the line of march.  Interest in the Memorial Day activities had decreased in the 1890s.  The Grand Army of the Republic had been in charge of the 30th of May activities in Taylor County.  When the schoolchildren first participated, they marched in a separate parade in the morning with the main parade with speakers and veterans held in the afternoon; and

Whereas, Memorial Day also became “Homecoming Day” for many former citizens of Grafton and Taylor County, who come from all over the country to renew old acquaintances and be with fellow alumni of past Memorial Days.  It is no wonder that Grafton with its rich history and dedication to the activities of Memorial Day became known as “Memorial City” and when VFW Post #3081 was organized it became known as “Memorial City Post #3081, Veterans of Foreign Wars.”  For 150 years, many different organizations have been in charge of Memorial Day activities, including Civil War veterans, the Grand Army of the Republic, Spanish-American War veterans, World War I veterans, the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and others.  In November 1980, the West Virginia Memorial Day Committee, Inc. was formed to combine the efforts of the American Legion, VFW, the Disabled American Veterans, and other veterans organizations.  Each year, the Memorial Day Committee sponsors the National Cemetery Essay Contest on the history of the two national cemeteries. The primary purpose is to stimulate interest in all West Virginia high school students in the historical significance of the two hallowed sites; and

Whereas, Each Governor of the State of West Virginia has been the principal speaker once during his term of office, and a great number of nationally known people have appeared in the same role.  Governor Bob Wise spoke in 2002, Governor Cecil Underwood spoke in 1998, and Governor Jay Rockefeller spoke in 1980.  An invitation to speak is offered every year to the current Governor of the State of West Virginia.  The activities of the Memorial Day Committee are made possible by an appropriation of the West Virginia State Legislature through the West Virginia Division of Veterans Affairs.  Additional funding also comes from the Taylor County Commission, the City of Grafton, many local businesses and the general public; and

Whereas, In 2017 Grafton celebrated Memorial Day with its Sesquicentennial parade and memorial services at the state’s only national cemeteries located in Grafton and Pruntytown.  Although not the official Memorial Day Parade for the state, the Memorial Day Committee promotes the parade as the West Virginia Memorial Day Parade.   Grafton shines by having the nation’s longest continuous running Memorial Day Parade and Memorial Services; therefore, be it

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That Grafton’s Annual Memorial Day Parade is the Official State Memorial Day Parade; and

Further Resolved, That Grafton’s Annual Memorial Day Parade is an important historic and cultural resource in the State of West Virginia; and

Further Resolved, The Grafton National Cemetery and the West Virginia National Cemetery are the state’s only national cemeteries; and

Further Resolved, That all concerned parties, public and private, have an obligation to future generations to continue to honor those West Virginia soldiers who have fought and died in the name of freedom; and

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward copies of this resolution to Peggy Knotts Barney, Mayor of Grafton, the Grafton City Council, and the Superintendents of the Grafton National Cemetery and the West Virginia National Cemetery.