Memorial Day in Waltham carries deep historical roots 

Waltham residents will come together on Memorial Day to honor the sacrifices of U.S. service members and remember those who never returned home.

At 9 a.m. a Gold Star Mothers memorial ceremony will take place at the Prospect Street Bridge, honoring families who lost loved ones in military service.

Immediately following, the City of Waltham will hold its official Memorial Day services from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Waltham Common at 610 Main St. The ceremony will include speeches, remembrances and the laying of wreaths.

The observance will continue a tradition that has been observed in communities across the country for more than 160 years. 

While Memorial Day now honors all U.S. military members killed in service, the holiday actually began after the Civil War ended in 1865 as “Decoration Day,” created to remember fallen Union soldiers. Communities decorated graves with flowers, flags and wreaths in tribute to those who died in battle.

According to records at the Waltham Museum, about 700 Waltham men fought for the Union, including soldiers who served in Company H of the 16th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. 

Among them were brothers 1st Lt. George F. Brown and Sgt. Charles L. Brown of Waltham, both of whom died from wounds suffered during the Battle of Gettysburg. Local resident Leonard Greene later traveled to Pennsylvania to recover the bodies of Waltham’s fallen soldiers and return them home for burial at Mount Feake Cemetery.

Waltham native George H. Maynard served in the 13th Massachusetts Infantry and later the 1st Florida Cavalry, eventually receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor for rescuing a wounded fellow soldier under heavy fire during the Battle of Antietam.

Another prominent Waltham figure, Nathaniel P. Banks, served as governor of Massachusetts before becoming a major general in the Union Army during the Civil War.

Waltham also contributed on the home front. Mary Phinney of Waltham served as a Civil War nurse and later became the second superintendent of the Massachusetts General Hospital Training School for Nurses.

As Waltham residents gather on Memorial Day to honor those who died in military service, they may reflect on the city’s long ties to the history behind the holiday.