Fort Smith 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 at Garland Avenue and Sixth Street in
Fort Smith,
Sebastian County, Arkansas
Sebastian County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 census, the population was 125,744, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arkansas. The county has two county seats, Greenwood and Fort Smith.
Sebastian ...
. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2005, had 13,127 interments.
History
Fort Smith was a frontier fort first established in 1817, by Maj.
William Bradford as a post to prevent hostilities between the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
s and the
Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage".
Osage can also refer to:
* Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation
* Osage (Unicode b ...
. Despite the strategic importance of the post, the army closed it after a severe outbreak of disease which had taken the lives of several of the men stationed there by 1824. The initial interments were made in the area during this time.
In 1838, a new fort was constructed on the site, including an officer's quarters where General
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...
lived from 1841 until 1845. At this time, the original post cemetery was repaired, expanded, and improved.
![Fort smith park map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Fort_smith_park_map.jpg)
On April 23, 1861, as the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
was beginning, the post was abandoned by the U.S. Army forces stationed there; it was then subsequently occupied by a
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
garrison. During this occupation, nearly 400 Confederate soldiers died and were buried at the fort's cemetery. On September 1, 1863, the fort was then retaken by
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
forces. In 1867, the post cemetery officially became a National Cemetery when many of the remains from soldiers who had been interred on nearby battlefields were exhumed and reinterred at Fort Smith. The cemetery includes more than 1,400 unmarked graves, many of them of Union and Confederate soldiers.
Noteworthy monuments
* A memorial to Unknown Confederate Dead, made of marble. It also commemorates Brigadier General
James M. McIntosh, who died at the
Battle of Pea Ridge
The Battle of Pea Ridge (March 7–8, 1862), also known as the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern, took place in the American Civil War near Leetown, northeast of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Federal forces, led by Brig. Gen. Samuel R. Curtis, moved south ...
and Brigadier General
Alexander E. Steen, who was killed at the
Battle of Prairie Grove
The Battle of Prairie Grove was a battle of the American Civil War fought on December 7, 1862. While tactically indecisive, the battle secured the Union control of northwestern Arkansas.
A division of Union troops in the Army of the Front ...
.
* A Vietnam Veterans memorial, constructed of granite and bronze, erected in 1998.
Notable interments
![FT](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/FT._SMITH_NATIONAL_CEMETERY.jpg)
*
W.H.H. Clayton (1840–1920), lawyer and judge in post-Civil War Arkansas
* Brigadier General
William Orlando Darby
Brigadier General William O. Darby (February 8, 1911 – April 30, 1945) was a career United States Army officer who fought in World War II, where he was killed in action at age 34 in Italy. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general. Da ...
(1911–1945),
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veteran, leader of ''Darby's Rangers''
*
Jack Fleck
Jackson Donald Fleck (November 7, 1921 – March 21, 2014) was an American professional golfer, best known for winning the U.S. Open in 1955 in a playoff over Ben Hogan.
Early years
Born in 1921 and raised in Bettendorf, Iowa, Fleck's parents ...
(1921–2014), World War II Navy veteran and professional golfer
*
Richard C. Gatlin
Richard Caswell Gatlin (January 18, 1809 – September 8, 1896) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War.
Early life
Gatlin was born in Kinston, North Carolina, the son of John Gatlin and Susannah Caswell Gatlin. His mother was the ...
(1809–1896), Civil War Confederate general
*
James M. McIntosh (1828–1862), Civil War Confederate brigadier general
*
Isaac C. Parker (1838–1896),
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
, frontier
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
known as "The Hanging Judge"
*
Hal Smith (1931–2014), United States Air Force veteran and MLB catcher
*
Alexander E. Steen (1827–1862), Missouri State Guard (Confederate) general
See also
*
References
External links
National Cemetery AdministrationFort Smith National Cemetery*
*
*
{{National Register of Historic Places
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Arkansas
Historic American Landscapes Survey in Arkansas
Buildings and structures in Fort Smith, Arkansas
United States national cemeteries
Arkansas in the American Civil War
Protected areas of Sebastian County, Arkansas
National Register of Historic Places in Sebastian County, Arkansas