Lexington 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 in the city of Lexington, Kentucky. 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 less than 4050 square meters (1 acre), and as of 2014 had approximately 1,700 interments. It is closed to new interments.

History

Lexington National Cemetery was originally a military section of the

Lexington Cemetery Lexington Cemetery is a private, non-profit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 833 W. Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky. The Lexington Cemetery was established in 1848 as a place of beauty and a public cemetery, in part to deal ...

which was first used to inter

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 ...

casualties in 1861. After the war, several makeshift battlefield cemeteries had their remains moved to Lexington. In 1863, the lot was officially designated a National Cemetery, and in 1867, an additional 1500 square meters (0.38 acres) were purchased by the federal government to increase the lot to its current size. Lexington National Cemetery was listed on

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 ...

in 1998. With .

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Lexington National Cemetery
* * * {{Find a Grave cemetery Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky Kentucky in the American Civil War National Register of Historic Places in Lexington, Kentucky United States national cemeteries Tourist attractions in Lexington, Kentucky Protected areas of Fayette County, Kentucky Historic American Landscapes Survey in Kentucky 1868 establishments in Kentucky