On May 5, 1868, General Order No. 11 was issued by the Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, John A. Logan. It says in part: The 30th day of May 1868 is designated for the purpose of strewing flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in the defense of their country. May 30, called Decoration Day, is today known as Memorial Day.

Honor the Noble Dead is a comprehensive study of the many grave marker/flag holders that decorated the graves of thousands of Civil War veterans. The funeral of a Civil War veteran was a sad event not only for the family, but also for his comrades in the Grand Army of the Republic post to which he belonged. Grand Army posts wanted to mark the graves of their comrades with special markers, which would make the grave sites easy to locate and thus decorate. Companies like M. D. Jones and Balch Bros. & West began to supply special markers for this purpose. These markers were designed to hold a flag. This work studies the many types of markers that were made. It has been more than 60 years since the last veteran of the Civil War passed away. Due to the passage of time, many worn out markers have been removed from the graves and are now being collected. This book touches on the question of whether they should be collected and restored or is this considered grave robbing. After reading this book, you decide.