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Events at Oakland Cemetery
Memorial Day Service
This year we will have 2 events for Memorial day:
Medal of Honor event on Saturday May 23rd and
Oakland Cemetery Memorial Day event on Monday May 25th.
Memorial Day Event at Oakland Cemetery
Monday May 25, 2026
10:00 AM at Soldiers Rest Block 41
927 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55117
Guest Speaker: Katie Schaefer Event will be held rain or shine.
North End Post #474
Oakland Cemetery Headstone Dedication 2024Captain Joseph Burger
Memorial Day Medal of Honor Medallion and Civil War Headstone Ceremony
Saturday May 23, 2026
1:00 PM at Soldiers Rest Block 41
Oakland Cemetery
927 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55117
Until now, a Minnesota Medal of Honor recipient had no visible recognition of his distinguished Civil War service—an honor we now gather to properly commemorate.
Medal of Honor Citation to Captain Joseph Burger, Company H, 2" Minnesota Infantry: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
Join us on May 23™ 2026 at 1:00pm, as we correct this oversight and dedicate the Medal of Honor medallion finally provided to him by the Veterans Affairs after we changed the law.
In addition, we will also be dedicating 16 new headstones to Civil War veterans, many who have been in unmarked graves for decades. Please, help us to show proper respect to all of these veterans.
Join Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Field Programs and Cemetery Operations, Glenn Powers, and MN Department of VA Commissioner, Bradley Lindsay for this dedication ceremony. These leaders helped cut the red tape.
A Grand Army of the Republic ceremony from the 1870s will be used by Camp 56, of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. To enable you to really feel like you are there, reenactors doing an impression of Abraham Lincoln, the GAR Adjutant General, ‘Women'’s Relief Corps, Ladies GAR and others will be participating.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a Congressionally chartered organization. Among the purposes of our order is the perpetuation of the memory of the men who saved the Union and honoring all who have patriotically served our nation in any way.
Memorial Day History
In April 1865, following Lincoln's assassination, commemorations were widespread. The more than 600,000 soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War meant that burial and memorialization took on new cultural significance. Under the leadership of women during the war, an increasingly formal practice of decorating graves had taken shape. In 1865, the federal government also began creating the United States National Cemetery System for the Union war dead.
By the 1880s, ceremonies were becoming more consistent across geography as the GAR provided handbooks that presented specific procedures, poems, and Bible verses for local post commanders to utilize in planning the local event.
By the 20th century, various Union memorial traditions, celebrated on different days, merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the U.S. military service. Indiana from the 1860s to the 1920s saw numerous debates on how to expand the celebration.
The name "Memorial Day", which was first attested in 1882, gradually became more common than "Decoration Day" after World War II but was not declared the official name by federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971. After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress's change of date within a few years.
Memorial Day Service
This year we will have 2 events for Memorial day:
Medal of Honor event on Saturday May 23rd and
Oakland Cemetery Memorial Day event on Monday May 25th.
Memorial Day Event at Oakland Cemetery
Monday May 25, 202610:00 AM at Soldiers Rest Block 41
927 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55117 Guest Speaker: Katie Schaefer
Event will be held rain or shine.
North End Post #474
Memorial Day Medal of Honor Medallion and Civil War Headstone Ceremony
Saturday May 23, 20261:00 PM at Soldiers Rest Block 41
Oakland Cemetery 927 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN 55117
Until now, a Minnesota Medal of Honor recipient had no visible recognition of his distinguished Civil War service—an honor we now gather to properly commemorate.
Medal of Honor Citation to Captain Joseph Burger, Company H, 2" Minnesota Infantry: Was one of a detachment of 16 men who heroically defended a wagon train against the attack of 125 cavalry, repulsed the attack and saved the train.
Join us on May 23™ 2026 at 1:00pm, as we correct this oversight and dedicate the Medal of Honor medallion finally provided to him by the Veterans Affairs after we changed the law.
In addition, we will also be dedicating 16 new headstones to Civil War veterans, many who have been in unmarked graves for decades. Please, help us to show proper respect to all of these veterans.
Join Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Field Programs and Cemetery Operations, Glenn Powers, and MN Department of VA Commissioner, Bradley Lindsay for this dedication ceremony. These leaders helped cut the red tape.
A Grand Army of the Republic ceremony from the 1870s will be used by Camp 56, of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. To enable you to really feel like you are there, reenactors doing an impression of Abraham Lincoln, the GAR Adjutant General, ‘Women'’s Relief Corps, Ladies GAR and others will be participating.
The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War is a Congressionally chartered organization. Among the purposes of our order is the perpetuation of the memory of the men who saved the Union and honoring all who have patriotically served our nation in any way.
Memorial Day History
In April 1865, following Lincoln's assassination, commemorations were widespread. The more than 600,000 soldiers of both sides who died in the Civil War meant that burial and memorialization took on new cultural significance. Under the leadership of women during the war, an increasingly formal practice of decorating graves had taken shape. In 1865, the federal government also began creating the United States National Cemetery System for the Union war dead.
By the 1880s, ceremonies were becoming more consistent across geography as the GAR provided handbooks that presented specific procedures, poems, and Bible verses for local post commanders to utilize in planning the local event.
By the 20th century, various Union memorial traditions, celebrated on different days, merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the U.S. military service. Indiana from the 1860s to the 1920s saw numerous debates on how to expand the celebration.
The name "Memorial Day", which was first attested in 1882, gradually became more common than "Decoration Day" after World War II but was not declared the official name by federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971. After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all 50 states adopted Congress's change of date within a few years.
Memorial Day, Wikipedia, Memorial Day