Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery is an American military cemetery located in

St. Louis County, Missouri St. Louis County is located in the eastern-central portion of Missouri. It is bounded by the City of St. Louis and the Mississippi River to the east, the Missouri River to the north, and the Meramec River to the south. At the 2020 census, th ...

, just on the banks of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The cemetery was established after 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 ...

in an attempt to put together a formal network of military cemeteries. It started as the

Jefferson Barracks Military Post The Jefferson Barracks Military Post is located on the Mississippi River at Lemay, Missouri, south of St. Louis. It was an important and active U.S. Army installation from 1826 through 1946. It is the oldest operating U.S. military installation w ...

Cemetery in 1826 and became 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 ...

in 1866. The first known burial was Elizabeth Ann Lash, the infant child of an officer stationed at Jefferson Barracks. The cemetery is administered by the

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 and ...

on the former site of Jefferson Barracks. It covers and the number of interments as of 2021 is approximately 237,000. The cemetery is listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Notable interments

Medal of Honor recipients

* Major Ralph Cheli (1919–1944), for heroism while leading a bombing mission in World War II * George Hobday (1839–1891), for action at the Wounded Knee Massacre, 1890 * Lorenzo D. Immell (1837–1912), for action at the

Battle of Wilson's Creek The Battle of Wilson's Creek, also known as the Battle of Oak Hills, was the first major battle of the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War. It was fought on August 10, 1861, near Springfield, Missouri, Springfield, Missou ...

, 1890 * Donald D. Pucket (1915–1944), pilot in the

U.S. Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, for action in World War II * David Ryan (1836–1896), for action during the Indian Wars in 1877 * Martin Schubert (1838–1912), for action during the American Civil War in 1862 * Bruce Avery Van Voorhis (1908–1943), US Navy pilot, for action in the Pacific

Other notable individuals

Michael Blassie Michael Joseph Blassie (April 4, 1948 – May 11, 1972) was a United States Air Force officer who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in May 1972. Prior to the identification of his remains, Blassie was the unknown service member fro ...

(1948–1972), previously interred as the "Vietnam unknown soldier" at the

Tomb of the Unknowns The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a historic monument dedicated to deceased U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. It is located in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, United States. The World War I "Unknown" is a re ...

from 1984 to 1998, re-interred here in 1998 after DNA testing positively identified his remains *

Jack Buck John Francis "Jack" Buck (August 21, 1924 – June 18, 2002) was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. His play-by-play work earned him recognition from numerous hall ...

(1924–2002), former

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

baseball announcer *

Franklin Gritts Franklin Gritts, also known as Oau Nah Jusah, or "They Have Returned", (1914 – 1996) was a Keetoowah Cherokee artist best known for his contributions to the "Golden Era" of Native American art, both as a teacher and an artist. During World W ...

(1915–1996), Cherokee artist and art director of the ''Sporting News'' * Johnnie Johnson (1924–2005), pioneering rock musician *

Walter Mayberry Walter Thomas "Tiger" Mayberry (March 14, 1915 – by March 5, 1944) was an American college football player, and later a U.S. Marine Corps fighter pilot. Mayberry was a casualty of World War II; dying in a Japanese prisoner of war camp after his ...

(1915–1944), college football player who died in a Japanese POW camp * Robert McFerrin Sr. (1921–2006), opera singer *

Hughie Miller Hugh Stanley Miller (December 22, 1886 – December 24, 1945) was an American professional baseball first baseman. Miller played in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies of the National League in 1911 and the St. Louis Terriers of t ...

(1886–1945), baseball player who earned the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

in World War I *

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: *Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England *Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay *Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815–18 ...

(1909–2006), musician * Three veterans of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

buried in the Old Post Section: ** Private

Richard Gentry Richard Gentry (August 25, 1788 – December 25, 1837) was an American politician and military officer who died during the Seminole Wars. The Missouri county of Gentry is named for him. He was the first mayor and founder of Columbia, Missouri. ...

, veteran of the Revolutionary and 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 ...

. He was present at the surrender of

Cornwallis Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, (31 December 1738 – 5 October 1805), styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as the Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army general and official. In the United S ...

at Yorktown. ** Major Russell Bissell (1756–1807), veteran of the Revolutionary and Indian Wars. ** Colonel Thomas Hunt (1754–1808), a "

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

" at the

Battle of Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

, April 1775. During the revolution he was wounded at the

Battle of Stony Point The Battle of Stony Point took place on July 16, 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. In a well-planned and -executed nighttime attack, a highly trained select group of George Washington's Continental Army troops under the command of Bri ...

and Siege of Yorktown. He was also a veteran of the Indian Wars and commanded the 1st Infantry Regiment. * Other burials of note **

Mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

of sixty-one merchant marines and sailors who died in the fire aboard the on August 19, 1943. ** Mass grave for 123 of the 139 victims of the Palawan Massacre ** Remains of 5 crewmen from B-36 Bomber 075 lost on the coast of British Columbia, Canada while conducting a training mission on February 13, 1950 Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery - buck

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery - buck

Memorial to the Confederate Dead

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery 23Oct11 pano1

A monument entitled Memorial to the Confederate Dead was placed in Jefferson Barracks on May 1st, 1988 It is located in section 66 of the cemetery. Not to be confused with the removed

Memorial to the Confederate Dead (St. Louis) The Memorial to the Confederate Dead is a Confederate memorial in Missouri. Around 1899, the Ladies’ Confederate Monument Association began raising funds to erect a monument in St. Louis to soldiers who had fought against the United States. Af ...

Memorial to the Confederate Dead (Jefferson Barracks) - Front

It was placed by the Jefferson Barracks Civil War Historical Association,

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

, and the Missouri Society Military Order of the Stars and Bars. The front of the monument features three Confederate flags: the first national flag (seven-star variant of the "Stars and Bars"), the Confederate Battle Flag, and the last national flag ("Blood-Stained Banner"). Under the flags is a quote by Berry Benson Aerial View of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and Jefferson Barracks Bridge

Aerial View of Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery and Jefferson Barracks Bridge

References

External links

Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

St. Louis County: Jefferson Barracks
* * * * {{National Register of Historic Places Victorian architecture in Missouri 1866 establishments in Missouri Buildings and structures in St. Louis County, Missouri Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Historic American Buildings Survey in Missouri Historic American Landscapes Survey in Missouri Protected areas of St. Louis County, Missouri National Register of Historic Places in St. Louis County, Missouri United States national cemeteries