The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 military cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War , in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. Two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery which is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Army, and Gettysburg National Cemetery , under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service , were established in 1864 and 1863, respectively.
9-448: Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located on Fort Leavenworth , a United States Army installation north of Leavenworth, Kansas . It was officially established in 1862, but was used as a burial ground as early as 1844, and was one of the twelve original United States National Cemeteries designated by Abraham Lincoln . The cemetery is the resting place of nine Medal of Honor recipients, but most are
18-502: 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 national cemeteries associated with historic sites and battlefields. The American Battle Monuments Commission , an independent agency of the executive branch, established by Congress in 1923, maintains 26 American military cemeteries and other memorials outside
27-838: The United States. Twelve national cemeteries were established in 1862. A total of 34 were established during the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Additional cemeteries were set up after the United States Civil War by Edmund Burke Whitman . Congress passed additional laws to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867. The National Cemetery Administration lists a total of 73 Civil War-Era National Cemeteries from 1861 to 1868. Final military honors are provided for qualified Veterans by volunteer veteran or National Guard details known as Memorial Honor Details (MHD), upon application by family members through their choice of mortuary handling
36-667: The Western Branch National Military Home, " old soldiers' home " (now VA Eisenhower Medical Center) and became a National Cemetery in 1973. Due to military tradition, the cemetery was originally divided into burial areas for enlisted personnel and a separate area for officers, but in 1858 the remains were re-interred into a single site. In the years following the Civil War , the bodies of Union soldiers from Kansas City, Kansas and Independence, Missouri , were re-interred at Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. In addition,
45-547: The cemetery was used as the burial ground for soldiers who served at frontier posts of New Mexico , Arizona , Colorado and Wyoming . By 1870, there were more than 1,000 Union soldiers interred at Fort Leavenworth, along with approximately 170 civilians and 7 Confederate prisoners of war. After the Indian Wars , between 1885 and 1907 many of the western Army outposts were vacated and as many as 2,000 remains were re-interred at Fort Leavenworth. Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
54-477: The deceased. *Please note that the year listed is the official date of establishment listed by the VA. This may differ from the year of the first burial, the oldest remains, the year the land was acquired, etc. Many post cemeteries have been given national cemetery status as late as 2020, which is considerably later than the original cemetery. For example, Vancouver Barracks post cemetery was established in 1849 and became
63-573: The less famous casualties of war. It was named for Brigadier General Henry Leavenworth , who was re-interred there in 1902 from Woodland Cemetery in Delhi, New York . Administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs , it occupies approximately 36.1 acres (14.6 ha) and was site to over 22,00 interments, as of 2020. It is maintained by Leavenworth National Cemetery . On July 17, 1862, Congress enacted legislation that authorized
72-431: The purchase of cemetery grounds to be used "for soldiers who shall have died in the service of the country". By 1870, the remains of nearly 300,000 Union dead had been buried in 73 national cemeteries. Most of the cemeteries were located near former battlefields or what were once war time camps. Fort Leavenworth National cemetery was one of the largest, at 36.1 acres. The Leavenworth cemetery was also closely associated with
81-558: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 15, 1999. United States National Cemetery The National Cemetery Administration of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains 148 national cemeteries as well as the Nationwide Grave-site Locator , which can be used to find burial locations of American military Veterans through their searchable website. The Department of
#117882