The Wilmington Memorial Day Committee invites the public to attend Wilmington’s 155th consecutive Memorial Day parade and observance on May 30.
On May 5, 1868, Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Commander in Chief Gen. John Alexander Logan issued General Order No. 11, which established the 30th day of May as Memorial Day to honor those who had fallen during the war. The GAR was the largest organization of Union veterans of the Civil War.
That same year, a group of New Castle County citizens formed a Memorial Day Committee. Through their efforts, the city of Wilmington conducted ceremonies and activities on May 30 in compliance with Gen. Logan’s order.
Subsequent members of that original committee have continued in the spirit and effort of the original members, honoring our war dead on May 30.
The parade lines up at 5:15 p.m. and steps off at 6:00 p.m. on May 30 on Delaware Avenue at Woodlawn Avenue.
Participants march east down Delaware Avenue to the Civil War Monument at Broom Street, where we honor the dead of all wars with a memorial service.
Delaware State Rep. Charles Postles will serve as grand marshal and speaker in Wilmington’s 2022 Memorial Day parade and observance on May 30. Rep. Postles will speak about his ancestor, James Parke Postles, a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient from Wilmington, Delaware, for his courageous action in voluntarily delivering an order in the face of heavy Confederate fire on July 2, 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg. He was serving with the Union Army’s Company A, 1st Delaware Infantry.
James Parke Postles survived the Civil War and died on May 27, 1908. Postles is buried at the Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery, 701 Delaware Ave. in Wilmington.
We feel it is important to pass on the tradition of honoring those who have given their lives for our country.
“If other eyes grow dull and other hands slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as light and the warmth of life remain in us.” — John A. Logan, commander in chief, Grand Army of the Republic, in General Order No. 11, May 5, 1868.
John Flaherty
Wilmington
