Fort McPherson National Cemetery is a

United States National Cemetery The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 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 o ...

, located south of the village of Maxwell in

Lincoln County, Nebraska Lincoln County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 census, the population was 34,676. Its county seat is North Platte. Despite the county's name, the state capital city of Lincoln is not in or near Lincoln County. ...

. Administered by the

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

, it encompasses , and as of 2014, it had over 10,000 interments.

History

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

was established in 1863 as an outpost to protect travellers along the

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

California Trail The California Trail was an emigrant trail of about across the western half of the North American continent from Missouri River towns to what is now the state of California. After it was established, the first half of the California Trail f ...

s, and to keep the peace with the local Native Americans. It was named for Major General

James B. McPherson James Birdseye McPherson (November 14, 1828 – July 22, 1864) was a career United States Army officer who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. McPherson was on the General's staff of Henry Halleck and late ...

, who was killed in action at the

Battle of Atlanta The Battle of Atlanta was a battle of the Atlanta Campaign fought during the American Civil War on July 22, 1864, just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Continuing their summer campaign to seize the important rail and supply hub of Atlanta, Uni ...

. A cemetery was created along with the fort. In 1873, were set aside to be a National Cemetery, and the remains interred in the original post cemetery were moved to it. Twenty-three cemeteries were moved from abandoned frontier forts to Fort McPherson; the last of these was moved from

Fort Robinson Fort Robinson is a former U.S. Army fort and now a major feature of Fort Robinson State Park, a public recreation and historic preservation area located west of Crawford on U.S. Route 20 in the Pine Ridge region of northwest Nebraska. The for ...

when it was closed in 1947.

Monuments

* A marble monument, erected in memory of those killed at the Grattan massacre.

Notable interments

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipients ** Private First Class

James W. Fous James William Fous (October 14, 1946 – May 14, 1968) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War. Biography Fous was born in O ...

(1946–1968), for action in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

** Sergeant George Jordan (1847–1904), for action in

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

during the Indian Wars ** Private Daniel Miller (1841–1874), for action in

Arizona Territory The Territory of Arizona (also known as Arizona Territory) was a territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863, until February 14, 1912, when the remaining extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of ...

during the

Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

** Sergeant Emanuel Stance (1843–1887), for action in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

during the Indian Wars * Others **

California Joe Milner Moses Embree Milner (May 8, 1829 – October 29, 1876), also known as "California Joe", was an American miner and frontier scout. Biography Moses Embree Milner was born in Stanford, Kentucky on May 8, 1829. At age 14 he moved west to St. Louis, ...

(1829–1876), Western miner and frontier scout ** 63

Buffalo soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Fort McPherson National Cemetery
* * * {{Authority control 1863 establishments in Nebraska Territory Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Federal lands in Nebraska Protected areas of Lincoln County, Nebraska United States national cemeteries Historic American Landscapes Survey in Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln County, Nebraska 1873 establishments in Nebraska