Memorial Day 2010

Memorial DayTime to Remember
The Cayuga County Civil War monument to honor the war dead was erected in 1921 at Richardson Square in Auburn. In 1973, the monument was moved to its present site on the south lawn of Auburn Memorial City Hall.


Memorial Day, originally called Declaration Day, had its roots in the Civil War. On May 5, 1868, by orders issued by Gen. John Logan, flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers. But it was not until after World War I that most of the states began honoring their war dead on the same date: the last Monday in May.



During the Civil War Cayuga County soldiers served in nine different regiments. The 111th Regiment made up of men from Cayuga and Wayne counties sustained the second highest losses at the Battle of Gettysburg.