Shiloh National Military Park to Host Wreaths Across America Day

SHILOH, TN – On Saturday, December 16, 2023, Shiloh National Military Park will participate in the national Wreaths Across America day. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. in the Shiloh National Cemetery.

“This is the seventh year Shiloh National Cemetery has participated in the Wreaths Across America,” said Superintendent Catherine Bragaw. “The laying of wreaths on the graves of honored dead has been done since the time of Ancient Greece. The circular shape of the wreath represents eternity, for it has no beginning and no end, and the greenery represents everlasting life. Laying a wreath is an act of remembrance for someone’s life and service, and it is our privilege to honor the soldiers buried here by participating in this event.”

Wreaths Across America, a non-profit 501-(c)(3) organization, was founded by Mr. Morrill Worcester of Harrington, Maine. When Worchester was 12 years old, he visited Arlington National Cemetery, an experience he would never forget. Decades later, in 1992, he sent his company’s surplus of 5,000 wreaths to be placed at Arlington, and he continued sending wreaths every year. In 2005, a photo of the stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated around the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention and thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help. Today the event has expanded to the placement of over 1.2 million wreaths in over 1,400 locations across the nation.

The event will begin at 11 a.m. with a short patriotic ceremony in the national cemetery. Following the ceremony, everyone in attendance will be invited to come forward and assist with laying the wreaths on the graves. In case of rain, the ceremony will take place in the visitor center auditorium.

The Shiloh National Cemetery, originally called Pittsburg Landing National Cemetery, was established by the War Department in 1866. Between 1866 and 1868, the United States Army disinterred and reburied the remains of 3,584 Union soldiers buried in hastily dug battlefield graves. Workers disinterred the dead from 156 locations on the battlefield, and 565 different locations along the Tennessee River. Today, the Shiloh National Cemetery also contains burials of U.S. military personnel from World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War, and a Persian Gulf War memorial stone.

Shiloh National Military Park is located at 1055 Pittsburg Landing Road, Shiloh, Tennessee, 38376.

For more information on this and future park events, please contact the Shiloh Battlefield Visitor Center at (731) 689-5696, or online at www.nps.gov/shil.

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