United States national cemetery

Gravesites at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day 2006
Flags flying at Fort Logan National Cemetery during Memorial Day 2006. The cemetery has flat markers, a practice which is used extensively in the new fields at this cemetery.
National Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee

"United States national cemetery" is a designation for 147 nationally important cemeteries in the United States. A national cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses, but not exclusively so. There are also state veteran cemeteries.

The best known national cemetery is Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.

Some national cemeteries, especially Arlington, contain the graves of important civilian leaders and other important national figures. Some national cemeteries also contain sections for Confederate soldiers.

The National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs maintains 131 of the 147 national cemeteries as well as the Nationwide Gravesite Locator, which can be used to find burial locations of American military veterans.[1] The Department of the Army maintains two national cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery and United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery. The National Park Service (NPS) maintains 14 cemeteries associated with historic sites and battlefields.

The American Battle Monuments Commission, an independent agency, maintains 24 American military cemeteries and other memorials outside of the United States.

History

The first national cemeteries were set up after the United States Civil War by Edmund Burke Whitman.[2] Congress passed a law to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867.[3]

Final military honors are provided for qualified veterans by several volunteer details known as a Memorial Honor Detail (MHD) upon request of family members through their choice of mortuaries handling the deceased's remains.

List of United States national cemeteries

Cemetery City State Agency
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Elwood Illinois VA
Alabama National Cemetery Montevallo Alabama VA
Alexandria National Cemetery Pineville Louisiana VA
Alexandria National Cemetery Alexandria Virginia VA
Alton National Cemetery Alton Illinois VA
Andersonville National Cemetery Andersonville Georgia NPS
Andrew Johnson National Cemetery Greeneville Tennessee NPS
Annapolis National Cemetery Annapolis Maryland VA
Antietam National Cemetery Sharpsburg Maryland NPS
Arlington National Cemetery Arlington Virginia Army
Bakersfield National Cemetery Bakersfield California VA
Balls Bluff National Cemetery Leesburg Virginia VA
Baltimore National Cemetery Baltimore Maryland VA
Barrancas National Cemetery Pensacola Florida VA
Bath National Cemetery Bath New York VA
Baton Rouge National Cemetery Baton Rouge Louisiana VA
Battleground National Cemetery Washington D.C. NPS
Bay Pines National Cemetery Bay Pines Florida VA
Beaufort National Cemetery Beaufort South Carolina VA
Beverly National Cemetery Beverly New Jersey VA
Biloxi National Cemetery Biloxi Mississippi VA
Black Hills National Cemetery Sturgis South Dakota VA
Calverton National Cemetery Calverton New York VA
Camp Butler National Cemetery Springfield Illinois VA
Camp Nelson National Cemetery Nicholasville Kentucky VA
Cape Canaveral National Cemetery[4] Scottsmoor Florida VA
Cave Hill National Cemetery Louisville Kentucky VA
Chalmette National Cemetery Chalmette Louisiana NPS
Chattanooga National Cemetery Chattanooga Tennessee VA
City Point National Cemetery Hopewell Virginia VA
Cold Harbor National Cemetery Mechanicsville Virginia VA
Corinth National Cemetery Corinth Mississippi VA
Crown Hill National Cemetery Indianapolis Indiana VA
Culpeper National Cemetery Culpeper Virginia VA
Custer National Cemetery Crow Agency Montana NPS
Cypress Hills National Cemetery Brooklyn New York VA
Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery Dallas Texas VA
Danville National Cemetery (Illinois) Danville Illinois VA
Danville National Cemetery (Kentucky) Danville Kentucky VA
Danville National Cemetery (Virginia) Danville Virginia VA
Dayton National Cemetery Dayton Ohio VA
Eagle Point National Cemetery Eagle Point Oregon VA
Fayetteville National Cemetery Fayetteville Arkansas VA
Finn's Point National Cemetery Salem New Jersey VA
Florence National Cemetery Florence South Carolina VA
Florida National Cemetery Bushnell Florida VA
Fort Bayard National Cemetery Bayard New Mexico VA
Fort Bliss National Cemetery Fort Bliss Texas VA
Fort Custer National Cemetery Augusta Michigan VA
Fort Donelson National Cemetery Dover Tennessee NPS
Fort Gibson National Cemetery Fort Gibson Oklahoma VA
Fort Harrison National Cemetery Richmond Virginia VA
Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery Fort Leavenworth Kansas VA
Fort Logan National Cemetery Denver Colorado VA
Fort Lyon National Cemetery Las Animas Colorado VA
Fort McPherson National Cemetery Maxwell Nebraska VA
Fort Meade National Cemetery Sturgis South Dakota VA
Fort Mitchell National Cemetery Fort Mitchell Alabama VA
Fort Richardson National Cemetery Fort Richardson Alaska VA
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery San Diego California VA
Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery San Antonio Texas VA
Fort Scott National Cemetery Fort Scott Kansas VA
Fort Sill National Cemetery Elgin Oklahoma VA
Fort Smith National Cemetery Fort Smith Arkansas VA
Fort Snelling National Cemetery Minneapolis Minnesota VA
Fredericksburg National Cemetery Fredericksburg Virginia NPS
Georgia National Cemetery Cherokee County Georgia VA
Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery Schuylerville New York VA
Gettysburg National Cemetery Gettysburg Pennsylvania NPS
Glendale National Cemetery Richmond Virginia VA
Golden Gate National Cemetery San Bruno California VA
Grafton National Cemetery Grafton West Virginia VA
Great Lakes National Cemetery Holly Michigan VA
Hampton National Cemetery Hampton Virginia VA
Hampton VA National Cemetery Hampton Virginia VA
Hot Springs National Cemetery Hot Springs South Dakota VA
Houston National Cemetery Houston Texas VA
Indiantown Gap National Cemetery Annville Pennsylvania VA
Jacksonville National Cemetery Jacksonville Florida VA
Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery St. Louis Missouri VA
Jefferson City National Cemetery Jefferson City Missouri VA
Keokuk National Cemetery Keokuk Iowa VA
Kerrville National Cemetery Kerrville Texas VA
Knoxville National Cemetery Knoxville Tennessee VA
Leavenworth National Cemetery Leavenworth Kansas VA
Lebanon National Cemetery Lebanon Kentucky VA
Lexington National Cemetery Lexington Kentucky VA
Little Rock National Cemetery Little Rock Arkansas VA
Long Island National Cemetery Farmingdale New York VA
Los Angeles National Cemetery Los Angeles California VA
Loudon Park National Cemetery Baltimore Maryland VA
Marietta National Cemetery Marietta Georgia VA
Marion National Cemetery Marion Indiana VA
Massachusetts National Cemetery Bourne Massachusetts VA
Memphis National Cemetery Memphis Tennessee VA
Mill Springs National Cemetery Nancy Kentucky VA
Miramar National Cemetery Miramar, San Diego California VA
Mobile National Cemetery Mobile Alabama VA
Mound City National Cemetery Mound City Illinois VA
Mountain Home National Cemetery Mountain Home Tennessee VA
Nashville National Cemetery Madison Tennessee VA
Natchez National Cemetery Natchez Mississippi VA
National Cemetery of the Alleghenies Cecil Township Pennsylvania VA
National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona Phoenix Arizona VA
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific Honolulu Hawaii VA
New Albany National Cemetery New Albany Indiana VA
New Bern National Cemetery New Bern North Carolina VA
Oakdale Cemetery Soldiers' Lot[5] Davenport Iowa VA[6]
Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery Rittman Ohio VA
Omaha National Cemetery Omaha Nebraska VA
Philadelphia National Cemetery Philadelphia Pennsylvania VA
Poplar Grove National Cemetery Petersburg Virginia NPS
Port Hudson National Cemetery Zachary Louisiana VA
Prescott National Cemetery Prescott Arizona VA
Puerto Rico National Cemetery Bayamon Puerto Rico VA
Quantico National Cemetery Triangle Virginia VA
Quincy National Cemetery Quincy Illinois VA
Raleigh National Cemetery Raleigh North Carolina VA
Richmond National Cemetery Richmond Virginia VA
Riverside National Cemetery Riverside California VA
Rock Island National Cemetery Rock Island Illinois VA
Roseburg National Cemetery Roseburg Oregon VA
Sacramento Valley National Cemetery Dixon California VA
Salisbury National Cemetery Salisbury North Carolina VA
San Antonio National Cemetery San Antonio Texas VA
San Francisco National Cemetery San Francisco California VA
San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery Gustine California VA
Santa Fe National Cemetery Santa Fe New Mexico VA
Sarasota National Cemetery Sarasota Florida VA
Seven Pines National Cemetery Sandston Virginia VA
Shiloh National Cemetery Shiloh Tennessee NPS
Sitka National Cemetery Sitka Alaska VA
South Florida National Cemetery Lake Worth Florida VA
Springfield National Cemetery Springfield Missouri VA
St. Augustine National Cemetery St. Augustine Florida VA
Staunton National Cemetery Staunton Virginia VA
Stones River National Cemetery Murfreesboro Tennessee NPS
Tahoma National Cemetery Kent Washington VA
Tallahassee National Cemetery Tallahassee Florida VA
Togus National Cemetery Chelsea Maine VA
U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery Washington D.C. Army
Vicksburg National Cemetery Vicksburg Mississippi NPS
Washington Crossing National Cemetery Newtown Pennsylvania VA
Western New York National Cemetery Pembroke New York VA
West Virginia National Cemetery Grafton West Virginia VA
Willamette National Cemetery Portland Oregon VA
Wilmington National Cemetery Wilmington North Carolina VA
Winchester National Cemetery Winchester Virginia VA
Wood National Cemetery Milwaukee Wisconsin VA
Woodlawn National Cemetery Elmira New York VA
Yellowstone National Cemetery Laurel Montana VA
Yorktown National Cemetery Yorktown Virginia NPS
Zachary Taylor National Cemetery Louisville Kentucky VA

See also

Notes and references

  1. "Nationwide Gravesite Locator". National Cemetery Administration.
  2. "Edmund Whitman (1812–1873)". University of Michigan. Retrieved 2008-10-31. After the war Whitman became assistant quartermaster in charge of national cemeteries and mortuary records for the same district. Charged with inspecting cemeteries and battlefields, he located Union soldiers buried in Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, and Alabama.
  3. Chap. LXI. 14 Stat. 399 from "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U. S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875". Library of Congress, Law Library of Congress. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  4. http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/capecanaveral.asp
  5. For information, see: NPS: Oakdale Cemetery Soldiers' Lot.
  6. Most of the original burials were transferred to the Rock Island and Keokuk National Cemeteries.

External links

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