Woodland Cemetery (formerly known as Grove Cemetery and Woodlawn Cemetery) is a public, city-owned

cemetery 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 ...

located at 428 Jerome Street in the city of Monroe in the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. It occupies and contains over 6,500

graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as gravey ...

. Founded in 1810, it is one of Michigan's oldest public cemeteries. Its oldest burials are veterans who served in the

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 ...

. Woodland Cemetery was designated as a

Michigan State Historic Site The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is one of 59 state historic preservation offices established according to the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 that plays a role in implementing federal historic preservation policy in the ...

on July 21, 1988. Many of Monroe's earliest settlers, politicians, and war combatants are buried at Woodland Cemetery, including some of those that were killed during the

Battle of Frenchtown The Battles of Frenchtown, also known as the Battle of the River Raisin and the River Raisin Massacre, were a series of conflicts in Michigan Territory that took place from January 18–23, 1813, during the War of 1812. It was fought between the ...

in 1813. The cemetery contains Monroe veterans from every major war from the American Revolutionary War to the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. A notable burial plot belongs to the families of Monroe residents

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

and his wife

Elizabeth Bacon Custer Elizabeth Bacon Custer (née Bacon; April 8, 1842 – April 4, 1933) was an American author and public speaker, and the wife of Brevet Major General George Armstrong Custer, United States Army. She spent most of their marriage in relative proxi ...

, although neither of those two are buried at Woodland Cemetery. His younger brother,

Boston Custer Boston Custer (October 31, 1848 – June 25, 1876) was the youngest brother of U.S. Army Lt Colonel George Armstrong Custer and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Captain Thomas Custer. He was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn alo ...

, and his nephew,

Henry Armstrong Reed Henry Armstrong Reed (April 27, 1858 – June 25, 1876) was the nephew of George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Custer, and Boston Custer. Although not an official soldier, he was killed along with them at the Battle of the Little Bighorn at the age of ...

, are buried at Woodland Cemetery after having died alongside George Custer at the

Battle of the Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Nor ...

in the

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries T ...

on June 25, 1876. Woodland Cemetery is located right next to the Zion Lutheran Cemetery, but the two are separate cemeteries.

Notable burials

*George Alford (d. 1836), 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 ...

in the

and the only known Monroe soldier to have served in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

under the direct command of General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

Daniel S. Bacon Daniel Stanton Bacon (December 12, 1798May 18, 1866) was an American politician and judge. He served as a member of the Michigan House of Representatives. He was the father of Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife and later widow of General George Armstr ...

(1789–1866), father of Elizabeth Bacon and father-in-law of

* Isaac P. Christiancy (1812–1890), Chief Justice of the Michigan State Supreme Court and member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

(1848–1876), younger brother of

and soldier killed at the

* Robert Scott Duncanson (1821–1872), one of the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

painters to garner international acclaim *James H. Gilmore, mayor of Monroe from 1922–1925 and 1930–1931 *

David A. Noble David Addison Noble (November 9, 1802 – October 13, 1876) was a politician and judge from the U.S. state of Michigan who served a term in Congress from 1853 to 1855. Noble was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He attended a private scho ...

(1802–1876), lawyer, mayor of Monroe, and representative in the United States Congress *Heman J. Redfield (1823–1883), former mayor of Monroe and member of the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

(1858–1876), nephew of George Armstrong Custer and civilian casualty at the Battle of the Little Bighorn *Jesse Hart Root (d. 1934),

federal judge Federal judges are judges appointed by a federal level of government as opposed to the state/provincial/local level. United States A US federal judge is appointed by the US President and confirmed by the US Senate in accordance with Article 3 of ...

in Michigan and delegate at the

1932 Republican National Convention The 1932 Republican National Convention was held at Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois, from June 14 to June 16, 1932. It nominated President Herbert Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis for reelection. Hoover was virtually unopposed for ...

George Spalding George Spalding (November 12, 1836 – September 13, 1915) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Biography Spalding was born in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1843 with his parents. The sett ...

(1836–1915),

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 ...

officer and later a

representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

* Edwin Willits (1830–1896), lawyer, local politician, and later representative in the United States Congress * Austin Eli Wing (1792–1849), Congressional delegate and member of the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

References

{{Monroe, Michigan Cemeteries in Michigan Monroe, Michigan 1810 establishments in Michigan Territory Michigan State Historic Sites in Monroe County Protected areas of Monroe County, Michigan