Marietta 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

Marietta Marietta may refer to: Places in the United States *Marietta, Jacksonville, Florida *Marietta, Georgia, the largest US city named Marietta *Marietta, Illinois *Marietta, Indiana *Marietta, Kansas *Marietta, Minnesota *Marietta, Mississippi *Mar ...

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta. Along with ...

. It encompasses , and as of the end of 2006, had 18,742

interment Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s. It is closed to new interments, and is now maintained by the new Georgia National Cemetery.

History

Originally established in 1866 by General

George Henry Thomas George Henry Thomas (July 31, 1816March 28, 1870) was an American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and one of the principal commanders in the Western Theater. Thomas served in the Mexican–American War and later chose ...

as Marietta and Atlanta National Cemetery, it was intended to provide interment for nearly 10,000

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 ...

dead from General

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

’s Atlanta Campaign. The land for the cemetery was donated by local resident Henry Cole, as a place to inter both Union and

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 ...

soldiers. His idea was that by burying together those who had fallen together in battle, it could help foster a kind of peace. Both sides rejected his proposal, and the land was used primarily to inter Union soldiers, while the others were buried in the Marietta Confederate Cemetery. As part of the land sale agreement, the Cole family has their own plot within the National Cemetery. Marietta National Cemetery was placed on 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 ...

on September 18, 1998.

Notable monuments

* A marble obelisk dedicated in honor of 20th Army Corps was erected in May 1870. * The Wisconsin Monument, dedicated in 1925 to 405 men from Wisconsin who died during the Civil War and were interred at the cemetery. * The Gold Star Mothers Monument, dedicated on April 24, 1960. * The

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

Monument, erected on December 7, 1996.

Notable interments and monuments

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 ** Corporal

Lee Hugh Phillips Lee Hugh Phillips (February 3, 1930 – November 27, 1950) was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the United States’ highest military decoration – the Medal of Honor – for his heroism on November 4, 1950, while fighting in K ...

(1930–1950), for action in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

(

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

) ** Private

Denis Buckley Denis Buckley (born 9 August 1990) is a rugby union player from Ireland. He predominantly plays as a loosehead prop. Buckley currently plays for Irish provincial team Connacht in the Pro14. He plays his club rugby for Buccaneers. Buckley has r ...

(1844–1864), for capture of flag of the 31st Mississippi (CSA) in the Civil War * Others ** John Clark (1766–1832),

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

veteran, US Congressman, Georgia governor ** General

W. A. Cunningham William Alexander Cunningham (July 9, 1886 – August 15, 1968) was an American football and basketball coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Georgia from 1910 to 1919, compiling a career college football record of 43-1 ...

(1886–1968), US Army Colonel and

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

Head Coach, Football ** Frank Simmons Leavitt, a.k.a.

Man Mountain Dean Frank Simmons Leavitt (June 30, 1891 – May 29, 1953) was an American professional wrestler of the early 1900s, known by the ring name Man Mountain Dean. Early life Leavitt was born in New York City, the son of John McKenney Leavitt and Henriet ...

(1891–1953), Master Sergeant in World War I and World War II, and professional wrestler **

Ella Lillian Wall Van Leer Ella Lillian Wall Van Leer (''née'' Ella Lillian Wall; November 11, 1892 – August 8, 1986) was an American artist and architect, women's rights activist, and the first woman to serve in an office of the American Legion in California. She was ...

(1892–1986), Artist, architect, women's rights activist, and known as First Lady of Georgia Tech ** Emma Stephenson, Nurse at Union hospital in Civil War. Freed African-American Slave.

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Marietta National Cemetery

* * * {{Authority control 1866 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in Marietta, Georgia Cemeteries in Georgia (U.S. state) Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Georgia (U.S. state) Colonial Revival architecture in Georgia (U.S. state) Historic American Landscapes Survey in Georgia (U.S. state) National Register of Historic Places in Cobb County, Georgia Protected areas of Cobb County, Georgia United States national cemeteries