Evolution of National Cemeteries
From humble beginnings as temporary burial grounds for Union soldiers during the Civil War, national cemeteries have transformed into revered sanctuaries honoring all United States veterans. Initially conceived in 1862, a year after the first shots of the Civil War echoed at Fort Sumter, these hallowed grounds have grown to encompass over 175 national cemeteries, soldiers’ lots, government plots, and even Confederate cemeteries, overseen by a trio of federal agencies: the National Cemetery Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of the Army of the Department of Defense, and the National Park Service.
The evolution of burial practices for American soldiers reflects the changing landscape of warfare and societal attitudes towards death and remembrance. In the nation’s early conflicts, such as the American Revolution and the War of 1812, fallen soldiers were typically laid to rest in churchyards or family cemeteries, often close to their homes and communities. As the United States expanded westward, the Army established forts to protect settlers and maintain order, leading to the creation of post cemeteries like the one at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. These cemeteries served as final resting places for soldiers and their families stationed at the fort, providing a sense of community and continuity in the often-isolated frontier environment.
Simultaneously, the rise of urban populations and growing concerns about sanitation spurred the development of rural cemeteries on the outskirts of cities. Mount Auburn Cemetery, established in 1831 near Boston, Massachusetts, pioneered this new approach, designed as a park-like setting where families could spend time with their deceased loved ones in a peaceful and aesthetically pleasing environment. These early cemeteries, while offering a more structured and serene alternative to traditional burial grounds, were ill-equipped to handle the unprecedented scale of death that the Civil War would unleash.
The onset of the Civil War in 1861 exposed the inadequacy of existing burial practices. Neither post cemeteries nor rural cemeteries were prepared for the staggering number of casualties, estimated at over 600,000 lives lost. The nature of warfare had changed dramatically, with increased weapon accuracy and new fighting techniques leading to higher casualty rates. Railroads and steamships transported soldiers to battlefields far from their homes, and disease ravaged both armies, contributing to a high percentage of deaths in battlefields, prisoner-of-war camps, and hospitals. The nation was faced with a grim reality, demanding a new system for honoring and burying its war dead.
Prior to the Civil War, the responsibility for burying the war dead fell under the purview of the Army’s Office of the Quartermaster General, an agency primarily focused on providing food, shelter, and supplies to soldiers. However, this arrangement proved inadequate in the face of the war’s immense death toll. In September 1861, the United States War Department issued General Orders No. 75, designating Union commanding officers as responsible for burying the dead from their units. This order, while well-intentioned, presented numerous challenges. Battles often resulted in heavy casualties, including the commanding officer himself. Surviving soldiers, exhausted, hungry, and wounded, were often ill-equipped to move bodies and dig graves. Furthermore, materials for marking graves were scarce, and accurate record-keeping proved difficult in the chaos of war.
Battles often occurred on farmland, leading to hasty burials in shallow graves where soldiers fell. Commanding officers were tasked with maintaining records of deceased soldiers and their burial locations, but this proved challenging due to the lack of identification. Dog tags were not standard issue until the 20th century, and while some affluent families could afford to have their sons’ bodies sent home by train, the cost and distance made this option inaccessible to most. Stories of families desperately searching for the remains of their loved ones became commonplace during the Civil War.
In 1861, the Board of Governors of the Soldiers’ Home in Washington, D.C., allowed the Army to bury soldiers who died in and around the capital in a designated section of its cemetery. However, this space quickly filled up, highlighting the urgent need for a more comprehensive solution. In response, the U.S. Congress passed legislation in July 1862 authorizing the President to purchase land for the establishment of cemeteries for those who died fighting for the United States. This act marked a significant turning point in the evolution of national cemeteries, formalizing the federal government’s commitment to honoring its war dead. The first national cemeteries were established near key locations and battlefields, such as Mill Springs National Cemetery in Nancy, Kentucky, as well as hospitals, like the one in Keokuk, Iowa, and troop concentration points like Alexandria, Virginia. By the end of the Civil War in the spring of 1865, approximately 30 national cemeteries and seven soldiers’ lots in private cemeteries had been established. Yet, the reality remained that many soldiers still lay in unmarked graves on battlefields.
The dire conditions of wartime burials sparked growing concern, leading to a renewed effort in 1867 to provide a proper burial for every Union soldier and sailor who died during the war. The Office of the U.S. Quartermaster General established national cemeteries in central locations, such as Memphis, Tennessee, to consolidate remains from surrounding areas for reburial. This effort included the reinterment of soldiers from the United States Colored Troops, recognizing their contribution to the Union cause.
The "Act to Establish and Protect National Cemeteries," also passed in 1867, mandated that the Secretary of War enclose each national cemetery with a stone or iron fence, mark every gravesite with a headstone, appoint a superintendent to oversee the cemetery, and construct a lodge for the superintendent’s residence. While these requirements established a framework for the proper maintenance and administration of national cemeteries, a permanent stone marker design was not adopted until 1873. Several years later, in 1879, Congress authorized the furnishing of headstones for unmarked graves of veterans in private cemeteries, extending the federal government’s commitment to honoring veterans beyond the confines of national cemeteries.
In 1873, eligibility for interment in national cemeteries expanded to include all Union veterans, recognizing their service to the country. Throughout the 20th century, eligibility requirements continued to broaden, eventually encompassing most honorably discharged veterans, their spouses, and dependent children. This inclusive approach solidified the role of evolution of national cemeteries as a symbol of national gratitude and remembrance.
Confederate soldiers, however, were initially excluded from burial in national cemeteries and denied any benefits from the United States government after the Civil War. During the reburial efforts of the late 1860s, when the remains of Confederate soldiers were found near Union soldiers, the Union soldiers were removed for proper burial, while the Confederate bodies were left behind. Due to the difficulty of identifying remains, some Confederate soldiers were unintentionally reburied in national cemeteries as Union soldiers.
Confederate prisoners of war were often interred in "Confederate sections" within national cemeteries. Graves in these sections, as well as in other cemeteries under federal care, were initially marked with wooden headboards and later with marble markers bearing only the soldier’s name, making them indistinguishable from civilian graves. Private organizations, particularly women’s groups established in former Confederate states, assumed responsibility for Confederate reburials. The Hollywood Memorial Association, for example, raised funds to move the bodies of Confederate soldiers from the battlefields of Gettysburg and Drewry’s Bluff to Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. The appearance of grave markers in these Confederate cemeteries varied depending on the preferences of the supervising organization.
The federal government’s involvement in permanently marking Confederate graves began in 1906. Congress authorized the furnishing of headstones for Confederate soldiers who died in Federal prisons and military hospitals in the North and were buried near their places of confinement. The act also established the Commission for Marking Graves of Confederate Dead, tasked with ensuring that the graves of Confederate soldiers in the North received proper markers. The design for these grave markers was similar to that approved in 1901 for marking Confederate graves at Arlington National Cemetery. The headstone was the same size and material as those used for Union soldiers, but with a pointed top instead of a rounded one, and the U.S. shield was omitted. Individual graves were marked at locations such as Rock Island Confederate Cemetery in Illinois and Camp Chase Confederate Cemetery in Ohio, both sites of large prisoner-of-war camps. Confederate graves within national cemeteries in the North, such as Woodlawn National Cemetery in New York, were also re-marked with the new headstones at this time.
In locations where the Commission could not mark individual graves, such as Point Lookout Confederate Cemetery in Maryland and Finn’s Point National Cemetery in New Jersey, a single monument was erected featuring bronze plaques bearing the names of those who died at the associated prisoner-of-war camps. An Act of January 20, 1914, authorized the furnishing of headstones for the unmarked graves of Union and Confederate soldiers, sailors, and marines in national, post, city, town, and village cemeteries. This provision allowed graves of Confederate soldiers buried in national cemeteries in the South, such as Fort Smith and Little Rock National Cemeteries in Arkansas, to be marked with the distinctive Confederate-style headstone. This act further shows the evolution of national cemeteries.
Today, three federal agencies manage 157 national cemeteries. The Veterans Administration, now the Department of Veterans Affairs, originally had responsibility for 21 cemeteries, some associated with the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. To these were added 82 cemeteries and 33 related soldiers’ lots transferred from the Department of the Army to the Department of Veterans Affairs in 1973. The Army retains control of two national cemeteries: Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, and Soldiers’ Home National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. The National Park Service manages 14 national cemeteries, most of which were transferred from the War Department in 1933, along with the national military parks. The Department of Veterans Affairs continues to establish new cemeteries to provide burial benefits to veterans and their families as close to home as possible. All three agencies maintain the evolution of national cemeteries as memorials to honor those who served and sacrificed their lives for the United States.
About Memorial Day:
Memorial Day, a national holiday dedicated to honoring Americans who died while in military service, originated as "Decoration Day." Its roots can be traced back to June 1861, with claims of Civil War soldiers’ graves being decorated in Warrenton, Virginia. Documentation also shows women in Savannah, Georgia, decorating Confederate graves in 1862. Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, claims to be the birthplace of Memorial Day, citing women decorating soldiers’ graves on July 4, 1864, at the National Cemetery in Gettysburg.
The first widely recognized observance of "Decoration Day" occurred on May 1, 1865, shortly after the end of the Civil War. Black residents of Charleston, South Carolina, along with teachers and missionaries, organized an event to honor 257 Union prisoners who died while held at the Charleston Race Course. Almost 10,000 people attended, laying flowers on the burial field, now Hampton Park. Years later, this event would be labeled the "First Decoration Day" in the North. Other observances were held throughout the North and South, and the term "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882, though it did not become common until after World War II.
Memorial Day became an official federal holiday in 1967. In June 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, moving the observance to a specific Monday to create a three-day weekend. The change shifted it from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May, and the Holiday Act became law in 1971.
Today, Memorial Day honors those who died in service with solemn observances and family gatherings. The traditional observance involves raising the U.S. flag to the staff’s top, then lowering it to half-staff in the morning to remember those who died. At noon, the flag is raised to full-staff for the rest of the day to honor their memory and affirm that they did not die in vain.