National Cemetery Administration

Visitation Hours: Open daily from dawn to dusk.

Office Hours: Monday thru Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except on Christmas and New Year's Day.

This cemetery has space available for cremated remains. We may be able to accommodate casketed remains in the same gravesite of previously interred family members.

Burial in a national cemetery is open to all members of the armed forces who have met a minimum active duty service requirement and were discharged under conditions other than dishonorable.

A Veteran's spouse, widow or widower, minor dependent children, and under certain conditions, unmarried adult children with disabilities may also be eligible for burial. Eligible spouses and children may be buried even if they predecease the Veteran.

Members of the reserve components of the armed forces who die while on active duty or who die while on training duty, or were eligible for retired pay, may also be eligible for burial.

» Eligibility for Burial in a VA National Cemetery

Fax all discharge documentation to the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 1-866-900-6417 and follow-up with a phone call to 1-800-535-1117.

For information on scheduled burials in our national cemeteries, please go to the Daily Burial Schedule.

Grave Location
The grave location of your loved one is furnished on the map included in the burial document folder. There is a grave locator in front of the Maintenence Building adjacent to the visitor parking area to assist weekend visitors who may not know the location of the gravesite.

Grave Marker
A temporary grave marker is used to mark the grave following the interment. A permanent grave marker will be furnished free of charge by the Government without application from the family. Every effort is made to have the grave marker delivered and set within 60 days from the day of interment.

Grounds Maintenance
Immediately after each interment, the grave is filled and leveled. As soon as the headstone/marker is set, the site will be seeded. Until growing conditions are favorable and turf has been established, burial areas may be substandard in appearance. Because the soil continues to sink after a burial, a new grave requires repeated renovation. Matters that appear to need immediate corrective action should be brought to the attention of the Cemetery Director.

Flags
The United States flag is flown over national cemeteries every day. The flag is flown at half-staff on the morning of Memorial Day and during interment services. Graves are decorated with small United States flags the day before Memorial Day and are removed immediately after the holiday. Flags are not permitted on graves at any other time.

For educational materials and additional information on this cemetery, please visit the Education section, located below.

Fresh cut flowers may be placed at gravesites at any time.

Artificial floral arrangements may be placed on gravesites starting the second Saturday in October through the second Sunday in April.

Fresh or artificial floral arrangements should be no taller than 24".

Floral arrangements should not completely cover the headstone or marker and should not encroach upon adjacent gravesites.

Floral items will be removed from gravesites when they become faded or unsightly.

Christmas wreaths (18" or smaller) and grave floral blankets (not to exceed 2' x 3') may be placed on gravesites beginning December 1st. These items will be removed by January 20th.

Easter, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day decorations and artificial floral arrangements may be placed the Thursday prior to the holiday and must be removed by the Sunday following the holiday.

Please do not secure floral items or other types of decorations to headstones or markers.

Permanent flower containers are not authorized.

The national cemetery will honor all Veteran gravesites prior to Memorial Day with a small U.S. flag. These flags will be removed immediately after Memorial Day.

We suggest that items placed at a gravesite be marked with the section and site number of your loved one. This is so they can be identified by the person who placed them, as well as for assisting employees in returning them to the correct gravesite if items are moved during inclement weather.

The following items are prohibited for placement at a gravesite, columbarium, or memorial wall and are subject to removal by cemetery staff:

• Alcoholic products
• Balloons, pinwheels, wind chimes, lights, candles, statues, stuffed animals, or other similar items
• Decorative and breakable glass or plastic items
• Non-government supplied floral containers (pots, planters, vases, etc.)
• Any objects that could become projectiles when caught in grounds maintenance equipment (such as rocks, coins, or other small durable objects)
• Offensive items or those deemed inconsistent with the cemetery setting
• Permanent in-ground plantings
• Weapons of any kind, explosives, or ammunition
• Any object attached to headstones, markers, or niche covers

Springfield National Cemetery is located on what was once the Kickapoo Prairie in Green County, MO.

Settlers began arriving in southwest Missouri in 1822, making their way north up the James River and its tributaries. But it was only after removal of the Kickapoo and Delaware Indians in 1830 that permanent settlement became possible. John Polk Campbell is credited as the founder of Springfield. He arrived with his brother Madison in 1829, and upon finding a viable water supply carved his initials on an ash tree to establish his claim. Other settlers arrived almost daily and it was not long before a settlement developed, complete with stores, mills, a school and post office. By 1838 the town had been officially incorporated.

In 1861, Springfield was the site of the Missouri State Convention to determine its future as part of the Union. The governor favored secession. Delegates urged approval of the Crittendon Resolutions (then before Congress), which would have legalized slavery where it already existed, and would let new states decide their own rights and would reimburse slave owners for losses caused by abolitionist raids. Delegates ultimately decided against secession and opposed any military action by either side; but if the federal government declared war on the South, they would join the Confederate ranks.

The Battle of Wilson Creek, the first major Civil War engagement west of the Mississippi River, was fought in Springfield on August 10, 1861, and involved about 5,400 Union troops and 12,000 Confederates. Although the battle was a Confederate victory, the South failed to capitalize on its success; it led to greater federal military activity in Missouri and set the stage for the Battle of Pea Ridge in March 1862.

Many men who died at the Battle of Wilson Creek would eventually be buried at Springfield National Cemetery, established in 1867 when the city purchased five acres for a burial plot. In 1911, the Confederate Cemetery Association (CCA) donated six acres, two of which were enclosed by a stone wall. Along with the land came the provision that burials would be restricted to men who died serving the Confederacy. Through a series of amendments to this provision in 1948, 1957 and 1984, all eligible veterans are now permitted in this portion of the cemetery. A 1871 cemetery inspection report recorded 832 known and 689 unknown interments in the cemetery. It continued, "A very worthless superintendent was in charge last year, and the cemetery was sadly neglected. This year it has been put in good order."

Springfield National Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

Monuments and Memorials
The U.S. government erected a marble pillar in 1888 in memory of Brig. Gen. Nathaniel Lyon, a Union officer during the Civil War.

On August 10, 1901, a monument in the form of a bronze figure was dedicated in honor of Missouri soldiers and Gen. Sterling Price, a Confederate officer during the Civil War. The sculptor was Chevalier Trentanove of Italy. The United Confederate Veterans of Missouri sponsored the monument.

The Union Memorial, also known as the T.J. Bailey monument, was erected in 1907. A lone infantry soldier stands atop its pedestal.

A small granite marker was dedicated September 27, 1958, in honor of the unknown Confederate dead who fell in the Battle of Wilson's Creek.

A small granite slab marks the location of a time capsule that was buried by the Lakes Counties 4H clubs during the Bicentennial in 1976. The time capsule will be opened on America's tri-centennial.

The Battle of Wilson Creek Memorial is a bronze tablet mounted on the rostrum. The memorial commemorates 501 Confederate soldiers who died of wounds or sickness at the Battles of Wilson Creek and Springfield.

A granite and bronze monument erected in honor of Pearl Harbor survivors was dedicated on August 8, 1992.

The Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution memorial is a granite monument dedicated in memory of patriots of the Continental Army or militia that gave their lives during the Revolutionary War. The memorial was installed in 1999.