May 27, 1776 NYC – It will be ninety years before the first Memorial Day (Decoration Day as it was called) is celebrated. Our first army is gathering on Manhattan Island for the Battle of New York. No one in the world was prepared for what the British Empire would unleash that Summer of 1776. Everyone in the American colonies knows of the Commander, General George Washington, but with him are many men who will go on to lead his young, untested army. Unfortunately, their names have been lost to many Americans. They are: