When these photos from the collection of the Museum of the City of New York were taken at Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery at the end of May in 1899, Memorial Day didn’t exist.
“Decoration Day,” however, was an established holiday celebrated every May 30. The idea was to visit the final resting places of thousands of Civil War dead and “decorate” their graves with flowers while clearing away dirt and debris.
The people visiting Green-Wood in the images are here on Decoration Day. This cemetery with its rolling hillsides and towering view of New York Harbor opened in 1838, and 30 years later became the burial site of thousands of Civil War soldiers.
The black and white images of crowds dressed in black and white mourning clothes lends a sense of solemnity. In the top photo, the caption states that “a band leads a group of visitors near the gate.”
In the second image, the caption mentions a parade—apparently of the uniformed men on the right. The third image shows a marching band as well.
Are the people in the photos visiting dead loved ones who fought in the Civil War? The captions don’t tell us the details, but the date of their visit offers a clue.
[Images: MCNY; photo 1: 93.1.1.17241; photo 2: 93.1.1.17242; photo 3: 93.1.1.3133]
Ephemeral New York 