Baton Rouge 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

East Baton Rouge Parish East Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Est) is the most populous parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 U.S. census, its population was 440,171, and 456,781 at the 2020 census. The parish seat is Baton Rouge, ...

, in the city of

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties ...

. It encompasses , and as of 2020, had over 5,000 interments. The cemetery was added to 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 ...

on July 9, 1997.

History

Massachusetts Monument by John Wilson Baton Rouge National Cemetery

Burials in the cemetery grounds took place as early as 1830, but the site was predominantly used during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

to bury soldiers who died in Baton Rouge and the surrounding battlefields, including

Plaquemine Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 United States census, the population was 7,119; the 2020 census determined i ...

and Camden. It became an official National Cemetery in 1867, and rewards were given to anyone who reported the grave of a

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 ...

soldier, so that his remains could be reinterred in the cemetery. First superintendent was Henry W. Taylor, a discharged 1st Sergeant of Company B, 45th Infantry Regiment. wit
four photos and two maps
With . In 1878 two men, Michael and Bernard Jodd, were hired to build a brick wall around the cemetery, which was previously enclosed by a picket fence, but before it was completed, both men contracted

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. ...

and died in September 1878. They were interred in the cemetery and the wall was completed by local laborers. The wall was surfaced with stucco in 1936. The entrance on North 19th Street is protected by a double iron gate built in 1933.

Massachusetts Monument

The cemetery contains a commemorative monument, erected in 1909 by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and built by J. N. White and Sons. The monument celebrates the memory of officers of 31st and 41st Infantry and of the men from Massachusetts who lost their lives in the

Department of the Gulf The Department of the Gulf was a command of the United States Army in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and of the Confederate States Army during the Civil War. History United States Army (Civil War) Creation The department was co ...

during the

Notable interments

* General

Philemon Thomas Philemon Thomas (February 9, 1763 – November 18, 1847) was a member of the United States House of Representatives representing the state of Louisiana. He served two terms as a Democrat (1831–1835). Philemon was born in Orange County, Vi ...

(1763–1847). His remains were reinterred in the national cemetery in 1886. He was a veteran of both 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 ...

and the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

, and he commanded the forces that captured the fort of Baton Rouge in 1810. He also served as a Congressional Representative from the state of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

in the 22nd and 23rd

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 ...

es. * Lieutenant General Troy Houston Middleton (1889–1976),

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

veteran and president of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. * Aden & Emma King, superintendent of the cemetery from 1920 to 1924. Aden died during his service and his wife Emma was appointed to the position upon his death. * Levi S. Porter, superintendent of the cemetery from 1932 to 1934.

References

External links

National Cemetery Administration

Baton Rouge National Cemetery

* * * * * {{East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in Louisiana Historic American Landscapes Survey in Louisiana Protected areas of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana United States national cemeteries Louisiana in the American Civil War Tourist attractions in Baton Rouge, Louisiana Geography of Baton Rouge, Louisiana Buildings and structures in Baton Rouge, Louisiana National Register of Historic Places in Baton Rouge, Louisiana 1867 establishments in Louisiana

History

Massachusetts Monument

Notable interments

See also

References

External links