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.
5-546: Georgia National Cemetery is a United States National Cemetery located near the city of Canton , in Cherokee County, Georgia . Managed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs , it encompasses 774.9 acres (313.6 ha), and has been undergoing development with the intention of servicing the interment needs of United States military veterans and their families for the next fifty years. The land for
10-463: 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 the deceased. *Please note that the year listed is the official date of establishment listed by the VA. This may differ from
15-714: 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 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
20-407: The cemetery was donated by land developer and World War II veteran, Scott Hudgens. J. M. Wilkerson Construction Company, Inc. was hired to develop the land. The cemetery opened for interments on April 24, 2006 with space available for nearly 30,000 grave sites. As of 2014, more than 8,000 were interred on the site. United States National Cemetery The National Cemetery Administration of
25-672: The executive branch, established by Congress in 1923, maintains 26 American military cemeteries and other memorials outside 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
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