Chattanooga National Cemetery plaque on National Cemetery System

The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during 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 act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. A national cemetery is generally a

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

cemetery containing the graves of

U.S. military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

personnel, veterans and their spouses, but not exclusively so. The best-known national cemetery is

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County is a County (United States), county in the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the Washington, D.C., District of Co ...

, adjacent to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Some national cemeteries, especially Arlington, have graves of civilian leaders and other national figures. Some national cemeteries also contain sections for

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. In addition to national cemeteries, there are also state veteran cemeteries. The National Cemetery Administration of 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 ...

(VA) maintains 148 national cemeteries as well as the Nationwide Gravesite Locator, which can be used to find burial locations of American military veterans. The

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...

maintains 2 national cemeteries,

and

United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery, in Washington, D.C., is located next to the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home. It is one of only two national cemeteries administered by the Department of the Army, the other being Arlin ...

. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

(NPS) maintains 14 national cemeteries associated with historic sites and battlefields. The

American Battle Monuments Commission The American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) is an independent agency of the United States government that administers, operates, and maintains permanent U.S. military cemeteries, memorials and monuments primarily outside the United States. ...

, an independent agency, maintains 26 American military cemeteries and other memorials outside the United States.

History

The first national cemeteries were set up after the

United States 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 ...

Edmund Burke Whitman Edmund Burke Whitman (October 18, 1812 – September 2, 1883) was a quartermaster during the American Civil War. After the war he was Superintendent of National Cemeteries where he developed the principles for the selection of new United States N ...

. Congress passed a law to establish and protect national cemeteries in 1867.Chap. LXI. 14 Stat. 399
fro
"A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U. S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774–1875"

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

Law Library of Congress The Law Library of Congress is the law library of the United States Congress. The Law Library of Congress holds the single most comprehensive and authoritative collection of domestic, foreign, and international legal materials in the world. Est ...

. Retrieved April 25, 2012. Final military honors are provided for qualified veterans by volunteer veteran or National Guard details known as Memorial Honor Details (MHD), upon application by family members through their choice of mortuary handling the deceased.

List of United States national cemeteries

Notes and references

External links

Department of Veteran's Affairs, National Cemetery Administration
{{USVA agencies

National Cemetery The following is a partial list of prominent National Cemeteries: Africa Algeria * El Alia Cemetery, Algiers Burundi * Mausolée des Martyrs de la Démocratie, Bujumbura Ghana * Asomdwee Park, Accra * Burma Camp Military Cemetery, Accra L ...

History

List of United States national cemeteries

See also

Notes and references

Further reading

External links