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Tag: Emancipation Proclamation

May 30th – the original Memorial Day

Most of us have just celebrated the unofficial beginning of summer with the Memorial Day weekend. The first Memorial Day, though, was observed on May 30, 1868, to honor those who died in the Civil War. Flowers were placed on the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers in Arlington National Cemetery.  In 1873, New […]

The 1863 Draft Riots and Abigail Hopper Gibbons

As Off the Grid chronicled last year, today is the anniversary of New York City’s draft riots, five days of rioting, looting, burning, and wanton violence that erupted after the Federal government instituted the Draft Act of 1863, the first instance of compulsory service in the federal military services. The riots began on July 13, […]